8th Grade Inventor Research 2014

University: PhD Chemistry, University of Berne (1895)    National Inventors Hall of Fame 2006

C. Harold Smith was born in London, England in 1860 and lived for a while in New Zealand as a teenager until coming to the United States in 1878. He married Paula Smith and they had two children, Bertha B. Hillas and Sidney V. Smith. Harold Smith was known for being outgoing. He established business friendships all over the world while traveling, a pastime he enjoyed. He kept notes on his traveling, and used this in his later years in his writing. He wrote several fictional and philosophical books which aroused interest from the public, particularly his autobiography which gave a glimpse of his personal philosophy. He had an interest in philanthropy and organized discussions to pursue charitable actions. He was involved in civic organizations such as the Union League Club of New York, the Transportation Club, the Uptown Club, and the Hudson River Country Club. He died in 1931 at 71 years of age.

Career Details Smith first became interested in the carbon industry when he arrived in the United States of America in 1878. He spent the next several years acquiring knowledge of the industry and accumulating the capital to found his company. Smith was respected in the business community for his solid base of technical knowledge and was nicknamed “The Carbon King.” He founded Binney & Smith with Edwin Binney in the late 1800s.