Goodrich, Benjamin F.

Goodrich, Benjamin F. (Franklin)

(1841–88) physician, industrialist; born in Ripley, N.Y. A surgeon during the Civil War, he opened a private practice in Jamestown, N.Y. (1864), which he quit for the real estate business. With his partners, he controlled the rubber company that manufactured Charles Goodyear's products (1867). This venture failed, leading to a second factory purchase in 1868, which also failed. In 1870 Goodrich settled in Akron, Ohio, as Goodrich, Tew & Company, which was forced to reorganize in 1874 as Goodrich & Company. Success came in 1879 with new money (principally from G. W. Crouse) and reorganization as the B. F. Goodrich Company (1880).