Benjamin W. Heineman
Walter Benjamin Heineman ( born February 10, 1914 in Wausau, Wisconsin; † August 5, 2012 in Waukesha, Wisconsin ) was an American railroad manager and lawyer.
Life
Ben W. Heineman was born as the son of coming from Germany married couple Ben Walter and Elsie Brunswick.
He had the intention to take after attending public schools, a study at Yale University. 1930 lost his father as a result of the stock market crash in the global economic crisis all assets committed suicide. He studied therefore due to the lack of financial support from the University of Encased by 1930 until 1933. Finally moved to the Northwestern University Law School, where he was more inscribed a year as usual. He graduated from one of the best in class and as editor of the Law Review. He then worked in various law offices in Chicago before he founded his own firm Swiren & Heineman.
During the Second World War he worked in Washington in the Office of Price Administration, and later in North Africa on behalf of the State Department legal advisor and Assistant Director in the North African Economic Board and as assistant to the American Ambassador to the government of Free France.
In 1951 he was appointed by the Illinois Governor Adlai Ewing Stevenson, educate Organized Crime in the cigarette tax. The following year he had in common with Arthur M. Schlesinger speechwriter for the presidential campaign of Stevenson.
In May 1954, he led a group of equity owners in their attempt to take control of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway to win. The project succeeded and Ben Heineman was appointed managing director of the railway company.
In 1956 he became managing director of the Chicago and North Western Railway, again after a proxy fight. During his time, he renewed it took place in a very short time the traction change from steam to diesel. To improve the services on-site features, he led a double -deck cars. During his period of service commenced with the transport of containers and truck trailers. He negotiated with trade unions on the reduction of points, reduced the unused track and other facilities. He succeeded that the company that made the beginning of his activity a loss of $ 5.5 million, 1964 was able to report a profit of 23.2 million dollars. In addition to the investment in railways Heineman put more emphasis on diversification and increased in other business sectors (steel, chemicals, clothing ) a. As a consequence, in 1968 the holding company of Northwest Industries was founded. 1972 was finally sold by the Northwest Industries, the railway company to the workers. Ben Heineman was still up to the takeover by Farley Northwest Industries Industries 1985 Managing Director.
During the reign of Lyndon B. Johnson, he was for a time as a consultant and also various cabinet posts were offered to him, but he always refused. In 1966, he headed the White House Conference on Civil Rights. He was also from 1962 to 1969 director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education to 1966, head of the Chicago Civil Rights Summit Conference. He also worked in supervisory boards of charitable, educational and art-oriented foundations. In 2002, he founded the Corning Museum of Glass, his collection of glass statues.
With his wife Nathalie died in 2010 he was married for almost 75 years. The couple had two children. He died of a stroke.