Harry Truman once said that “the only thing new under the sun is the history you haven’t read yet.” One of my favorite websites is American Business History Center run by Gary Hoover (founder of Hoover’s, Inc.- now owned by Dun and Bradstreet). If you’re looking for great, concise articles on the history of American business and the lessons that history offers us today, this site is for you.
A few years back, Mr. Hoover asked who was the greatest technology entrepreneur in US History? You might pick someone like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, but Mr. Hoover suggests you look back to a true golden age of invention, the period between the Civil War and World War I, that saw the build out of railroads, the telephone, electric light, electric motors, the first autos and many other advances.
In particular, there is one man who Mr. Hoover sees as “The Greatest Technology Entrepreneur is US” from that era. Make your own guess and then check out who Mr. Hoover would honor with that title…and learn why even the most successful entrepreneur with a breakthrough product cannot guarantee that their enterprises will outlast them.
