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James Gamble (industrialist)
James Gamble (3 April 1803 – 29 April 1891) was an Irish-American soap industrialist.[1][2] He was the co-founder of Procter & Gamble Company in 1837, along with William Procter. Early lifeJames Gamble was born at the Graan near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland, and went to Portora Royal School.[3] His father George Gamble, who was a Methodist minister, decided with his family to escape the depression in Ireland.[4] They emigrated to America in 1819. The Gambles arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on a flat boat down the Ohio River destined for Illinois. His family stopped in Cincinnati when he was seized with an illness. Staying in the city, his father established a nursery and Gamble apprenticed as a soap maker. Cincinnati then was a major pig-butchering center and produced large amount of pig fat used for making candles and soap.[5] He attended Kenyon College, graduated in 1824, and manufactured soap on his own in 1828. Procter & GambleGamble went into business with William Procter after they became related by marriage. Gamble's wife Elizabeth Ann Norris was the sister of Procter's wife Olivia Norris. The pair's father-in-law, Alexander Norris, first suggested that the two go into business together in 1837 and consequently Procter & Gamble was born.[3][6] Within 20 years, the company had a $1-million turnover.[5] It also secured a contract to supply soap for the Union Army.[5] DeathGamble died at his residence in Cincinnati on 29 April 1891 from natural causes.[2] He is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.[7] Procter, who preceded his partner Gamble in death, is also buried at Spring Grove Cemetery.[8] Family lifeGamble and Elizabeth Ann (Norris) Gamble had ten children,[1][3] including James Norris Gamble (9 August 1836 – 2 July 1932) who became Vice President of Procter & Gamble and was the chemist who devised the formula for Ivory soap.[1] James Norris Gamble married Margaret Penrose; he died in his sleep on 2 July 1932 in Cincinnati and is interred in Spring Grove Cemetery.[9][10] Another son, David Gamble, built the Gamble House in Pasadena, California. Gamble's grandson William married Franzeska Wilhelmina (Fanny) Nast, the daughter of the William Nast, a German-American Methodist preacher. Fanny was the first woman to graduate from German Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.[11] As one of Cincinnati's biggest proponents of Methodism, Gamble was a prominent member of Westwood Methodist Church and donated money to construct Methodist churches throughout Greater Cincinnati.[12] Notes
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