Robert Dollar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Dollar
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 20 March 1844 |
| Died | 16 May 1932 (aged 88) |
| Resting place | Mount Tamalpais Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Snedden Proudfoot |
| Children | Alexander Melville Dollar Robert Stanley Dollar Mary Grace Dollar Dickson John Harold Dollar |
Robert Dollar (1844–1932) was a very successful businessman from Scotland who moved to America. People called him Captain Robert Dollar, even though he wasn't a real ship captain. They also called him the "Grand Old Man of the Pacific" because he became so important in the shipping world.
Robert Dollar started out in the lumber business. He then became a huge shipping boss and also gave a lot of money to good causes. He was even featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1928!
Contents
Early Life and Work
Robert Dollar was born on March 20, 1844, in Falkirk, Scotland. He had two younger brothers. When he was nine years old, his mother passed away. Robert had to leave school to help his family. He worked in a machine shop and then as an errand boy for a lumber company.
In 1857, his family moved to Canada. At just 14, Robert started working in a lumber camp as a cook's helper. He later worked in a factory that made barrel parts. He learned French and eventually became the camp's accountant.
In 1861, Robert got his first real job as a logger. He had to float logs down the river to the mill. This was hard work, and he often fell into the water! He kept a diary from 1866 to 1918, which helped him write his life story later. He worked in logging camps in Canada and Michigan.
His Family Life
Robert met Margaret S. Proudfoot at a church. They got married in 1874. At this time, Robert was in debt from a timber business that didn't work out. He was determined to pay back the $2500 he owed.
For their honeymoon, Robert took Margaret and 18 men to start a new lumber camp! Robert and Margaret were very close. Margaret often traveled the world with her husband. She once told her granddaughters, "When you get married, never let your husband know he can get along without you." Robert believed his success truly began when he got married.
Margaret was a quiet but strong person. She even took an airplane ride over Shanghai in 1927! She joked that Robert would never be happy until he was the captain of a spaceship to Mars.
Their Children
Robert and Margaret had four children. Their first two sons, Alexander Melville and Robert Stanley, were born in Bracebridge, Canada. In 1885, the family moved to Marquette, Michigan, where their daughter Mary Grace and son John Harold were born.
Becoming a Lumber King
When Robert was 22, he became the director of a lumber company. His first attempt to buy a lumber camp failed, but he didn't give up. He learned from his mistakes and bought other camps that became very successful. He bought land and camps in Canada, Michigan, and then in California.
.jpeg)
In 1888, his family moved to San Rafael, California. Robert bought more timberland and logging camps in California, Oregon, and British Columbia. Part of the land he bought, known as "Dollar's Meeker tract," had giant redwood trees. A piece of this land is now the famous Bohemian Grove.
In 1906, Robert bought a Victorian house in San Rafael and named it "Falkirk" after his birthplace in Scotland. He lived there until he passed away. The community bought the house in 1975, and it's now known as the Falkirk Cultural Center.
Becoming a Shipping Boss
In 1895, Robert bought his first ship, a steam schooner named Newsboy. He used it to move his lumber from the Pacific Northwest down the coast. This was the start of his huge shipping business, which carried lumber, goods, mail, and even passengers. He became a very powerful shipping magnate in San Francisco.
In 1903, Robert and his three sons created the Robert Dollar Company. In 1910, Dollar built a large 11-story office building in San Francisco, which became the main office for the Dollar Steamship Company. His ships traveled all over the Pacific Ocean, from Canada to China, and from San Francisco to Japan.
In 1923, when he was 80 years old, Robert bought seven large "President" ships from the U.S. Government. This allowed him to start a successful passenger service that went all the way around the world! In 1925, he took over another shipping company called Pacific Mails, adding 8 more ships to his fleet.
After Robert Dollar passed away in 1932, his company faced tough times. The Great Depression and World War II hurt the business. The government also stopped giving mail contracts to the Dollar line. Eventually, in 1937, the company went bankrupt.
Later, in 1945, Robert's son, Stanley Dollar, fought in court to get the company back. He won in 1950, but the government didn't return the company. Instead, Stanley received a cash payment. In 1952, new investors bought the company. Its name was later changed to APL, and it eventually merged with another company.
Ships Owned by Robert Dollar
Robert Dollar's company owned many ships, including the first one, the Newsboy. Here are some of the ships named after his family members:
|
|
President Line Ships
These ships were bought from the U.S. Government and used for the round-the-world passenger service:
|
|
Other Businesses and Offices
Robert Dollar's company had many other parts, including:
- Dollar Portland Lumber Company
- Canadian Robert Dollar Co., Ltd
- Globe Wireless, Ltd. (a communication company)
- Egmont Timber Company
The Dollar Steamship Line had offices all over the world, including in China, the Philippines, Italy, Egypt, and many cities across the United States. They also owned tugboats, lumber barges, and motor launches.
Community Involvement
Robert Dollar was involved in many organizations:
- President of the Y.M.C.A.
- President of the Ship Owner's Association
- Chair of the Board of Directors for a seminary (a religious school)
- President of the Merchant's Exchange
- Member of the San Rafael Park and Recreation Commission
Giving Back to Others
Robert Dollar was a very generous person. He gave money to many religious and community causes.
Sunny Hills Orphanage
Robert Dollar and his wife were very active in an orphanage called Sunny Hills Services. He helped buy land for it in 1900 and built a school there. After fires destroyed buildings, he helped rebuild them. In 1920, he gave 42 acres of land as a Christmas gift. In 1922, he and his wife donated the Dollar Dickson Memorial building in memory of their daughter, Mary Grace, who had passed away. In 1929, Robert built the Robert Dollar Home for Boys.
San Francisco Theological Seminary
In 1917, Robert Dollar gave $50,000 to create a special teaching position at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. It was called the Robert Dollar Chair.
He also created another teaching position, the Margaret S. Dollar Chair, named after his wife. He asked a minister named Lynn T. White to be the first professor for this position, even though they sometimes disagreed on ideas.
In 1922, Mr. and Mrs. Dollar donated 13 bells, called a carillon, to the seminary. These bells are still played today.
Gifts to San Rafael
As part of the San Rafael Park and Recreation Commission, Robert Dollar donated 20 acres of land for Boyd Park in 1920. He gave more land and money in 1923. The Robert Dollar Scenic Drive was built from Boyd Park to the top of San Rafael Hill.
Gifts to Falkirk, Scotland
Robert Dollar never forgot his hometown in Scotland. He visited many times and gave money to buy Dollar Park and Arnotdale House, which he gave to the town. He also paid for a drinking fountain, a library at the YMCA, and bells for the old "Faw Kirk" Parish Church. The town gave him the keys to Falkirk to thank him.
His Legacy
Robert Dollar believed that what truly matters after you're gone is how people remember you and if you left the world a little better. He didn't think money was the most important thing.
He continued to work until his last days. When reporters asked him when he would retire after he turned eighty, he said he had done more in his last twenty years than ever before. He believed he was put on Earth to work and make a difference.
The National Foreign Trade Council gives out an annual "Robert Dollar Award" to people who have made great contributions to international trade for the United States.
The town of Dollarville, Michigan, where Robert Dollar once worked, is named after him.
One of the steam locomotives from the Robert Dollar Lumber Company has been restored and still operates today at the Niles Canyon Railway.
His Passing
Robert Dollar's last public appearance was at the Theological Seminary. Even though he was not feeling well, he insisted on walking in the graduation ceremony and giving a message to the graduating class.
Robert Dollar passed away on May 16, 1932, from bronchial pneumonia. Many important people, including the Governor of California and the Mayor of San Francisco, were honorary pallbearers at his funeral. The U.S. Government even sent a special airship that dropped flowers from the sky. Over 3,000 people attended his funeral.
Robert Stanley Dollar
Robert's son, Robert Stanley Dollar, had been involved in his father's business for many years. He became president of the United States Line, another shipping company. Robert Stanley Dollar's daughter, Diana Dollar Hickingbotham Knowles, was also a well-known giver to good causes in San Francisco.
|
