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John Lyon Collyer papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 3265

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Photographs, correspondence, printed items, speeches, clippings, films and tapes concerning the public activities of John L. Collyer. Material covers his tenure as president of B.F. Goodrich; most of this material concerns rubber.

Dates

  • 1909-1976.

Creator

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

John Lyon Collyer (1893-1979) was born at Chelsea-on-Hudson, New York in 1893, to a family of shipbuilders and boat operators. He attended Cornell University and graduated in 1917 with a degree in mechanical engineering. During these years he was a member and later coach of the crew team. He took a job with Bethlehem Steel in their Wilmington shipyards. In 1923, he accepted the vice-presidency of the English-owned Dunlop Tire and Rubber Company in Buffalo, New York, and worked his way to the position of co-managing director of Dunlop's international operations. In 1930 he married Georgia Forman Elliott, a widow with two children. Collyer and his wife had a daughter, Georgia, in 1930. At this time he moved to England, continuing to work for Dunlop until 1939, when he moved back to the U.S. to assume the presidency and chief executive position at B.F. Goodrich Co., in Akron, Ohio. He contributed greatly to the development and production of synthetic rubber, a material in great demand in World War II. Collyer served in this position with Goodrich for 25 years, and was on the board of directors of several corporations, including Cornell University. A benefactor of Cornell, he gave the Collyer Boathouse on Cayuga Lake inlet. Collyer died in 1979 at Vero Beach, Florida.

Cornell University Class of 1917.

Extent

9 cubic feet. (9 cubic feet. 5 tapes.,)

Abstract

Photographs, correspondence, printed items, speeches, clippings, films and tapes concerning the public activities of John L. Collyer. Material covers his tenure as president of B.F. Goodrich; most of this material concerns rubber.

Physical Description

Audio Tapes, Correspondence, Films, Photographs, Printed Material

General

Contact Information:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3530 Fax: (607) 255-9524rareref@cornell.eduhttp://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:
RMC Staff
Date completed:
August 29, 1990
EAD encoding:
RMC Staff, April 2014
Date modified:
RMC Staff, June 2018
Status
Completed
Author
Compiled by RMC Staff
Date
April 2014
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Repository

Contact:
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853
607-255-3530
607-255-9524 (Fax)