Hiram Hutchinson (1808-1869)
Founder of Hutchinson S.A., Rubber Manufacturers; of New York.
He was born at Middleton, Massachusetts. Having acquired patent rights to the vulcanisation of rubber from Charles Goodyear in 1853, Hutchinson went to France and established two large factories at Paris and Châlette-sur-Loing, and another at Mannheim in the Grand Duchy of Baden. These factories were the first of their kind to be of any importance in Europe and employed about a thousand people. He spent roughly a year in France, enough time to initiate manufacturing before turning over management of Châlette-sur-Loing to his son, Alcander, which to this day remains the headquarters of Hutchinson S.A. Returning to America, he focused on researching further uses for rubber, correctly predicting its use for tires, boots, and sealant, all of which continue to be manufactured by Hutchinson SA. He lived at 35 East 37th Street in New York City and at the end of the Civil War bought the Robert Oswald House in Beaufort, South Carolina. In 1831, he married Mary-Ann, only daughter of Abraham Lufberry of New Jersey, and they had eight children, five of whom survived into adulthood.
