The 1930s Business and the Economy: Headline Makers

David Dubinsky (1892–1982) Born David Dobnievski in Russian Poland, Dubinsky spent eighteen months in a Polish prison for being a labor agitator. When he was nineteen, he escaped to New York, where he became a master of the cloak-cutting craft. He rose to the office of president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) in 1932. By 1934 the ILGWU was the third largest labor union in the United States, with 200,000 members. Dubinsky was a prominent pro-Roosevelt campaigner. He organized several successful strikes during the 1930s and finally retired from the post in 1966.

Armand Hammer (1898–1990) A physician, pharmacist, mine operator, grain merchant, distiller, and many other things besides, Armand Hammer was a millionaire for seven of his nine decades. Although he was one of the most prominent tycoons of the 1930s, his businesses were not always strictly legal. During Prohibition, Hammer's pharmacy's best-selling product was a solution of ginger that was 85 percent alcohol, and in 1976 Hammer was convicted of making illegal contributions to Richard Nixon's 1972 presidential campaign. Nevertheless, Hammer remained an active and influential man in political circles.

Howard Hughes (1905–1975) Howard Hughes was an engineering and movie tycoon who made his name as a pioneering aviator. When hired stunt pilots refused to risk death for his movie Hell's Angels (1930), Hughes did the flying himself. On August 13, 1935, he broke the speed record in his H-1 racing airplane, achieving 352.388 miles per hour. In 1938, he flew around the world in a record-breaking three days, nineteen hours, and eight minutes. Despite his reputation for adventure and excitement, Hughes's private life was unhappy. As he aged, he became a drug addict and a recluse.

Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (1889–1974) As a child, oil tycoon Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. was talented at mathematics and card games. By age sixteen, he was competing at cards with experienced adults, and soon became a professional gambler. In the 1920s, knowing nothing about geology, Hunt made several lucky oil strikes. Throughout the 1930s, he made deals with governments around the world to protect oil interests, and by 1942 he was the richest man in the United States. Hunt was also a bigamist: he had married two women and supported these two families, as well as a mistress and his child with her. When he died, his will was contested by all three families, none of whom had ever known about the others.

Samuel Insull (1859–1938) Electricity tycoon Samuel Insull was born and raised in England but became an American citizen in 1896. In 1912 he set up the Middle West Utilities Company, which took advantage of the spread of electricity in the 1920s. When Insull's companies collapsed, investors lost between two and three billion dollars. Although the energy industry as a whole suffered heavy losses, the press seemed to blame Insull personally for the crash and the Depression. Accused of buying political influence, he went on trial in 1934 and was acquitted of all charges. He lived the remainder of his life in Paris.

Howard Johnson (1885–1977) In 1924, Howard Johnson invested $300 in an ice cream recipe belonging to an elderly German immigrant. Four years later, his gross income from ice cream sales was $240,000. Howard Johnson food outlets were one of the great successes of the 1930s. Famous for his roadside restaurants, Johnson became known as the "Host of the Highways." The war hit Johnson's business hard, but he acquired contracts to supply food for workers in the munitions factories and managed to keep the company afloat. In the 1950s he branched out into motor lodges, and by 1956 the gross income of the Howard Johnson Company was $175,530,695.

John L. Lewis (1880–1969) John L. Lewis was the dominant figure of the 1930s labor movement. He became president of the United Mine Workers in 1909 and reached the height of his powers as president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) between 1933 and 1937. In those years he worked closely with the federal government to improve the influence of labor unions. He cultivated the image of himself sharing sauerkraut and beer with President Roosevelt. The downturn of 1937 ended his period of influence, but by then his efforts had improved the lives of millions of industrial workers.

Rose Pesotta (1896–1965) Rose Pesotta helped David Dubinsky run the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). She was one of the most militant female labor activists, working as the only "woman organizer" at the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike in Flint, Michigan. Her great skill was in talking to female relatives of male strikers to win their support. During the Flint Campaign, she was beaten up by company thugs and left with a permanent hearing impairment. She was one of very few women to succeed in the male-dominated labor movement of the 1930s.