Frick, Henry Clay, 1849-1919, American industrialist, b. Westmoreland co., Pa. He worked on his father's farm, was a store clerk, and did bookkeeping before he and several associates organized (1871) Frick & Company to operate coke ovens in the Connellsville coal district. He strengthened his position by buying out competitors during the Panic of 1873 and soon held a key place in the industry.

Andrew Carnegie, in order to control a business so vital to steelmaking, acquired heavy interests in Frick's organization. Frick, in turn, was given large holdings in the Carnegie company, and because of his managerial ability, he was made (1889) chairman of the steel company. He played a key role in the organization (1892) of the Carnegie Steel Company, and as its acting head Frick engineered a large expansion of the company by buying out competing companies and acquiring many holdings in railroad securities and in Lake Superior iron ore lands. Frick, frequently over Carnegie's protest, dealt in strong-handed fashion with the company's workers, and his adamant stand resulted in a pitched battle in the strike (1892) at Homestead, Pa.—one of the bitterest strikes in U.S. history (see Homestead strike). He was largely responsible for the antiunion policy that characterized the steel industry for many decades.

Disputes between Frick and Carnegie led to a struggle between them for control, and in 1899 Frick resigned. He became a director of the U.S. Steel Corp. and turned to other interests, chiefly railroads. His mansion in New York City, together with his art collection and endowment of $15 million, was willed to the public as a museum. Princeton Univ. and the city of Pittsburgh also benefited from his philanthropies.

Folger, Henry Clay, 1857-1930, American industrialist and collector of Shakespeareana. His connection with Standard Oil companies, beginning in 1879, continued until his retirement 49 years later as chairman of the board of the New York company. He was an enthusiastic student of Shakespeare during his college days and became a discerning collector. His wife, Emily Jordan Folger (d. 1936), was his associate in this work. Their collection, quietly acquired, became one of the largest and most valuable of its sort in the world. The Folger Shakespeare Library, east of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 1932. Its major collections contain more than 250,000 volumes, primarily 16th-and 17th-century works of literature, drama, and history of the English Renaissance. It is administered by Amherst College trustees.

(born , Dec. 19, 1849, West Overton, Pa., U.S.—died Dec. 2, 1919, New York, N.Y.) U.S. industrialist. He began building and operating coke ovens in 1870 and organized his own company in 1871. From 1889 he served as chairman of Carnegie Steel Co., the world's largest manufacturer of steel and coke. His role in the violent steel strike of 1892 in Homestead, Pa., provoked an anarchist to shoot and stab him, but he survived. He was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Steel Corp. in 1901. A noted art collector and philanthropist, he bequeathed the Frick Collection to New York City. Seealso Andrew Carnegie.

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(born April 12, 1777, Hanover county, Va., U.S.—died June 29, 1852, Washington, D.C.) U.S. politician. He practiced law from 1797 in Virginia and then in Kentucky, where he served in the state legislature (1803–09). He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1811–14, 1815–21, 1823–25); as House speaker (1811–14), he was among those who propelled the U.S. into the War of 1812. He supported a national economic policy of protective tariffs, known as the American System, a national bank, and improvements to internal transportation. His support of the Missouri Compromise earned him the nicknames “The Great Pacificator” and “The Great Compromiser.” After his bid for the presidency in 1824 fell short, Clay threw his support to John Quincy Adams, who made him his secretary of state (1825–29). He served in the U.S. Senate (1806–07, 1810–11, and 1831–42), where he supported the compromise tariff of 1833. He was the National Republican Party candidate for president in 1832 and the Whig Party candidate in 1844. In his last Senate term (1849–52) he argued strongly for passage of the Compromise of 1850.

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(born , Dec. 19, 1849, West Overton, Pa., U.S.—died Dec. 2, 1919, New York, N.Y.) U.S. industrialist. He began building and operating coke ovens in 1870 and organized his own company in 1871. From 1889 he served as chairman of Carnegie Steel Co., the world's largest manufacturer of steel and coke. His role in the violent steel strike of 1892 in Homestead, Pa., provoked an anarchist to shoot and stab him, but he survived. He was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Steel Corp. in 1901. A noted art collector and philanthropist, he bequeathed the Frick Collection to New York City. Seealso Andrew Carnegie.

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