Sam Zemurray facts for kids

Samuel Zemurray (born Schmuel Zmurri; January 18, 1877 – November 30, 1961) was an American businessman. He was often called "Sam the Banana Man" because he made a huge fortune in the banana trade. He started his own company, the Cuyamel Fruit Company. Later, he became the boss of the United Fruit Company, which was the biggest fruit company in the world at that time. Both of his companies had a big impact on the history and economies of several countries in Central America.

Early Life

Samuel Zemurray was born Schmuel Zmurri on January 18, 1877. He came from a poor Jewish family in a city called Kishinev, which is now in Moldova. His grandfather was a musician. Samuel grew up on a wheat farm.

When he was 14, after his father died, Samuel moved to America with his aunt in 1891. He first arrived in New York. Then, he settled in Selma, Alabama, where his uncle owned a general store. Samuel worked many different jobs when he was young. He was a carpenter's helper, a delivery boy, and even cleaned houses. He saved enough money to bring his brothers and sisters from Europe to the United States.

Career

Starting in the Banana Business

Samuel first saw bananas in Selma in 1893. Back then, bananas were new and exciting in the United States. The banana business was growing very fast. In 1895, Samuel went to the port of Mobile, Alabama to join the banana trade.

Bananas ripen quickly, so it was important to get them to market fast. Samuel became good at buying bananas that were about to get too ripe. He would quickly move them by train and sell them in nearby areas. He started with only $150. By the time he was 21, he had saved $100,000! Because of his success, people started calling him "Sam the Banana Man."

In 1903, Samuel Zemurray made a deal with United Fruit. This was the biggest company in the banana business. Samuel and his partner, Ashbell Hubbard, formed the Hubbard-Zemurray Company. Their job was to buy and sell United Fruit's ripest bananas. United Fruit even bought a part of their new company.

In 1905, Samuel moved to New Orleans. His company bought a shipping company and then the Cuyamel Fruit Company. They started using the Cuyamel Fruit Company name. At this time, they bought bananas from farmers in Central America but did not grow their own.

In 1910, Samuel bought 5,000 acres of land in Honduras. This land was perfect for growing bananas. He borrowed more money and bought even more land. He built banana farms, railroads, and bridges there. Most of the work was done by people from Jamaica. Samuel also liked to work in the fields himself. His partner, Hubbard, thought the company had too much debt. So, Samuel bought Hubbard's share of the business.

A Big Change in Honduras

Samuel Zemurray made his business more efficient by making special deals with the Honduran government. He also used bribery. But in 1910, the government of Honduras was trying to pay back money it owed to the United Kingdom. The U.S. Secretary of State, Philander C. Knox, helped with these talks. The plan was to have bankers from J.P. Morgan and Company collect taxes in Honduras to pay off the debt.

Samuel worried that these new taxes would ruin his banana business. He asked Knox to make the deal better for him. But Knox refused and told Samuel not to get involved in Honduras's affairs.

Despite this warning, Samuel came up with a plan to remove the Honduran president, Miguel R. Dávila. He wanted to stop the new tax deal. He hired a soldier for hire named Lee Christmas. Christmas then gathered about 100 other soldiers in New Orleans. They sailed to Honduras on a former U.S. Navy ship. They started a fight to bring back the old Honduran president, Manuel Bonilla, who had been living in New Orleans. Many local people joined their side. The plan worked, and Bonilla became president on February 1, 1912. President Bonilla then gave Samuel's Cuyamel Fruit Company very good tax and land deals.

Zemurray helped Manuel Bonilla become president of Honduras.

Selling Cuyamel and Retirement

In 1913, Samuel bought back the part of his company that United Fruit owned. This was easier because the U.S. government was putting pressure on United Fruit about its large size. Now, Samuel was fully in charge of Cuyamel. He bought 20 ships by 1915 that had special refrigerated rooms. Cuyamel Fruit started growing other crops besides bananas, like coconuts, pineapples, and sugarcane.

During the 1910s and 1920s, Samuel and United Fruit often had conflicts. They fought over land in Central America. This included tricks, trying to ruin each other's plans, and legal battles. In 1928, a Cuyamel Fruit boat was found with many weapons on it.

In 1929, the United States Department of State helped Samuel and United Fruit talk about joining their companies. They wanted to end the conflict, which was causing problems for American interests abroad. A deal was made in 1929. Samuel sold Cuyamel to United Fruit for $31.5 million in stock. This made him one of the richest people in the United States. Samuel had always been proud of being independent. But he sold his company because of pressure from the government and money problems during the Great Depression in 1929.

As part of the deal, Samuel agreed to leave the banana business completely. This was to make sure he would not start a new company and compete with United Fruit. During this time, Samuel fixed up his beautiful mansion in New Orleans. He also bought a large plantation in Louisiana called Houltonwood in 1928. This became his favorite place to relax for the rest of his life.

United Fruit started to lose money because of bad management and the Great Depression. Its stock value dropped by 90% after it bought Cuyamel. This made Samuel want to return to the banana business. He bought enough shares of United Fruit to take control. He then voted out the old leaders. Samuel reorganized the company, let local managers make more decisions, and made the company profitable again.

Formerly Samuel Zemurray's home, this mansion in New Orleans is now used by the president of Tulane University.

Leading United Fruit Company

After Samuel sold Cuyamel, United Fruit's business got worse because of the Great Depression. Samuel believed the company could be run better. He sent a letter and went to a meeting, but United Fruit's leaders were not interested in his ideas. So, Samuel visited individual United Fruit shareholders. He collected their votes, which allowed him to take control of the company.

As the new president of United Fruit Company, Samuel made the business much better. He believed that visiting the banana farms himself was key to his success. He learned all the details of how things worked. This led to firing employees who were not doing well, making ship use more efficient, and using new money strategies.

Because of banana diseases, United Fruit bought a lot of land in Central America. Since there was no cure for the diseases, United Fruit would simply move to new land when old areas became sick. This way, United Fruit ended up owning most of the private land in countries like Honduras, even if they didn't use all of it.

Events in Guatemala

In 1953, the U.S. State Department and United Fruit started a big effort to convince Americans that Colonel Jacobo Arbenz wanted to make Guatemala a country controlled by the Soviet Union. Samuel Zemurray allowed Edward Bernays to start a campaign against Colonel Arbenz's government. Arbenz was a democratically elected leader. He planned to take some of the unused land owned by United Fruit Co. and give it to local farmers.

In 1954, the campaign worked. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency helped organize a plan that replaced Arbenz with a military government led by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas.

Samuel Zemurray retired as president of United Fruit in late 1951. He and his family gave a lot of money to Tulane University. This included a large collection of ancient Mayan artifacts found in banana fields. They also supported the Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School and other good causes. He supported the Zionist movement and was friends with Chaim Weizmann. Samuel also supported President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies. He helped write rules for the farming industry and gave money to groups like The Nation magazine.

Innovations

Samuel Zemurray and his company created new ways of farming bananas. These ideas helped Cuyamel Fruit Company be more efficient than United Fruit.

• Selective pruning: This meant removing the smallest and weakest banana plants.
• Drainage: They added channels and canals to remove extra water from the plants.
• Silting: Some fields were allowed to flood. This helped make the soil rich with silt.
• Staking: Banana plants were tied to a bamboo stick. This helped stop them from falling over in the wind.
• Overhead irrigation: Sprinklers were added to banana fields. This made sure plants got water all year.

Personal Life

Samuel Zemurray married Sarah Weinberger in May 1908. Sarah's father, Jake Weinberger, was also involved in the banana trade and worked for Samuel. Sarah Weinberger wrote a cookbook. Their daughter, Doris Zemurray Stone, was born in 1909. She became an archaeologist. Their son, Samuel Jr., was born in 1913. He went missing while flying a plane in World War II.

Once he had a lot of money, Samuel Zemurray gave generously to many causes. In the United States, he gave thousands of dollars to Tulane University, Radcliffe College, The Nation magazine, and to hospitals in New Orleans. In Central America, he paid for hospitals, roads, and schools, including the Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School.

Samuel Zemurray was a member of Temple Sinai, a Jewish place of worship in New Orleans.

Images for kids

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  Workers unload bananas in New Orleans in the 1920s

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  United Fruit ships in New Orleans, around 1910

See also

In Spanish: Samuel Zemurray para niños

• James Dole, a pineapple businessman