William Procter

Birth Name:
William Procter
Birth Date:
December 7, 1801
Birth Place:
Herefordshire, England
Death Date:
April 4, 1884
Place of Death:
297 Race Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
Age:
82
Cause of Death:
General Debility
Cemetery Name:
Spring Grove Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Business and Finance
William Procter was an English-born American industrialist and candlemaker who was the co-founder of Procter & Gamble Company in 1837, along with James Gamble. William Procter came to New York City in 1830 after his London woolens shop was destroyed by fire and burglary. He and his wife, Martha, soon decided to travel west to the country’s new frontier but were forced to stop in Cincinnati when Martha became ill and ultimately died of cholera. Procter stayed in Cincinnati making a living as a candlemaker and remarried Olivia Norris. Olivia’s sister was married to James Gamble, a soapmaker. At the suggestion of their father-in-law, the two men went into business together. In 1837, Procter & Gamble (P&G) was born as a storefront business in Cincinnati. Upon his death in 1884, he was laid to rest at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.

Fun Facts

P&G pioneered several firsts:

  • Instituted a profit-sharing program that gave employees an ownership stake in the company. (1887)
  • Became the first company to conduct data-based market research. (1924)
  • Created Crest toothpaste, a breakthrough in the use of fluoride to protect against tooth decay, the second most prevalent disease at the time. (1955)

Today, P&G serves nearly five billion of the world’s seven billion people.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Spring Grove Cemetery

4521 Spring Grove Avenue

Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio
Map of Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio

Grave Location:

Section 47, Lot 76, Grave 8

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery through the main entrance drive straight ahead under the trestle bridge and drive straight, veering slightly to the right after the first couple of sections. Bordered by Sections 38, 46 and 55, look for the Procter monument right on the road in Section 47, directly across from Section 46.

Grave Location GPS

39.1712141, -84.5220897

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

FAQ's

William Procter was born on December 7, 1801.

William Procter was born in Herefordshire, England.

William Procter died on April 4, 1884.

William Procter died in 297 Race Street, Cincinnati, Ohio.

William Procter was 82.

The cause of death was General Debility.

William Procter's grave is in Spring Grove Cemetery

Read More About William Procter:

Videos Featuring William Procter:

Watch YouTube video titled Business Legends: Procter & Gamble
Business Legends: Procter & Gamble
Watch YouTube video titled How P&G has been scoring number ones for 180 years
How P&G has been scoring number ones for 180 years

See More:

Cyrus West Field

popular name: Cyrus West Field

date_of_death: July 12, 1892

age: 72

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Cyrus Field (1819-1892) spearheaded the mission to lay the first telegraphic cable across the Atlantic Ocean. As the head of a paper company, he amassed wealth that he used to finance his idea of the transatlantic cable. Leading the Atlantic Telegraph Company, he arranged for the British and American naval ships Agamemnon and Niagara to lay the cable. On August 16, 1858, the first transatlantic message was sent from Queen Victoria to President Buchanan. The cable stopped working three weeks later. In 1866, the Great Eastern successfully laid a functioning and more durable cable across the Atlantic. In later years, he supported other trans-ocean cables from Hawaii to Asia and Australia.

Dave Thomas

popular name: Dave Thomas

date_of_death: January 8, 2002

age: 69

cause_of_death: Carcinoid neuroendocrine tumor in the liver

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Dave Thomas was a successful businessman, philanthropist, fast-food tycoon and the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's, a fast-food restaurant chain. In 1979 sales exceeded $1 billion dollars and at the time of his death, there were more than 6,000 Wendy's restaurants operating in North America.

Irv Robbins

popular name: Irv Robbins

date_of_death: May 5, 2008

age: 90

cause_of_death: Complications due to old age

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Irvine Robbins was a Canadian-born American businessman. He co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain in 1945 with his partner and brother-in-law Burt Baskin. Robbins grew up scooping ice cream at his family’s dairy. In 1945, he opened his first cone shop, Snowbird Ice Cream in Glendale, Calif., offering 21 flavors (when other cone shops only served vanilla, chocolate and strawberry). The following year, his brother-in-law Burton Baskin also opened a shop, Burton’s Ice Cream, in Pasadena. Within three years, Robbins had five Snowbird locations and Baskin had three Burton’s branches. Robbins’ father reportedly advised the two against running a business together because their individual creativity might be stifled. But the in-laws decided to combine their operations. In 1949, they purchased a dairy in Burbank, Calif., which gave them control over production. The two went on to franchise new stores, which helped them grow rapidly. In 1953, they renamed the company Baskin-Robbins, focusing on 31 flavors — one for each day of the month. By 1967, when the chain consisted of about 500 units, the partners sold the company for an estimated $12 million. Six months later, Burt Baskin died of a heart attack at age 54.

Back to Top