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:

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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:

Howard Johnson

popular name: Howard Johnson

date_of_death: June 20, 1972

age: 75

cause_of_death: Heart failure

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Howard Johnson was an American entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder of an American chain of restaurants and motels under one company of the same name, Howard Johnson's. For three years he sold cigars,. and then in 1924, when he was 27, he assumed the debts, liquidated the business and bought a run‐down drugstore near the Wollaston railroad station. It had a soda fountain, candy and tobacco counter and newspaper stand, and Mr. Johnson soon had the place bringing in $30,000 a year with a staff of 75 boys delivering papers. Still, it was not until he bought the ice‐cream recipe of an elderly German pushcart vendor that the business took off. The peddler's secret was in doubling the butterfat content of the commercial ice cream and in using natural, instead of synthetic, flavoring. By 1928 the gross from ice cream sold at the Store and at several beach stands nearby reached $240,000, and seven years later Mr. Johnson had 25 restaurants beside Massachusetts highways. Between 1961 and 1979 revenues for the company grew every year. The Howard Johnson Company continued to expand, growing to over 1,000 restaurants and over 500 motor lodges in 42 states and Canada.

Alva Vanderbilt Belmont

popular name: Alva Vanderbilt Belmont

date_of_death: January 26, 1933

age: 80

cause_of_death: Natural Causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Alva Vanderbilt Belmont was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the American women's suffrage movement. She was noted for her energy, intelligence, strong opinions, and willingness to challenge convention. In 1909, she founded the Political Equality League to get votes for suffrage-supporting New York State politicians, wrote articles for newspapers, and joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). She was married twice, first to William Kissam Vanderbilt, with whom she had three children, and secondly to Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont; both men were millionaires and members of socially prominent families in New York City. Alva was known for her many building projects, including: the Petit Chateau in New York; the Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island; the Belmont House in New York; Brookholt in Long Island; and Beacon Towers in Sands Point, New York.

James Gamble

popular name: James Gamble

date_of_death: April 29, 1891

age: 88

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: In 1819, the George Gamble family set sail for American to seek their fortune in an area of Illinois that was being promoted. Because of illness of a son, they stopped and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. A son, James Gamble, at 18 apprenticed in the soap business and eventually formed his own company. After marrying Ann Norris, he merged his company with that of William Proctor who married Ann’s sister. And in 1837 that was the start of the Proctor and Gamble Company. In 1858–1859, sales reached $1 million. By that point, about 80 employees worked for Procter & Gamble. During the American Civil War, the company won contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles. In addition to the increased profits experienced during the war, the military contracts introduced soldiers from all over the country to Procter & Gamble's products. In the 1880s, Procter & Gamble began to market a new product, an inexpensive soap that floated in water. The company called the soap Ivory. Beginning in the 1880s, P&G advertised its wares in full-page advertisements in many general-interest magazines; by 1921, it had become a major international corporation with a diversified line of soaps, toiletries, and food products; in that year, its annual advertising budget reached $1 million. In the 1920s, P&G advertised its products on the new medium of radio, and from 1932 forward was one of the biggest sponsors of daytime serials, which soon acquired the nickname of soap operas. In the television era, P&G sponsored and produced some twenty soap operas across six decades before the last of its shows ended in 2010. Today Procter and Gamble employees over 101,000 employees with total sales exceeding $76 billion. Upon his death in 1891, he was laid to rest at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.

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