Newcomen Society of the United States
The Newcomen Society of the United States was a non-profit educational foundation for "the study and recognition of achievement in American business and the society it serves", active between 1923 and 2007. It was responsible for more than 1,600 individual histories of organizations, from corporations to colleges, which were distributed to libraries and its membership.
English origins
It was patterned after the Newcomen Society of Great Britain, founded in London in 1920, a learned society formed to foster the study of the history of engineering and technology. Both groups took their name from Thomas Newcomen, the British industrial pioneer whose invention of the atmospheric steam engine in 1712 led to the first practical use of such a device: lifting water out of mines. Newcomen's invention helped facilitate the birth of the Industrial Revolution. He is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Industrial Revolution."The Newcomen Society in North America
The Newcomen Society of the United States began as The Newcomen Society in North America, founded in New York City in 1923 by Leonor F. Loree, then dean of American railroad presidents, together with a group of other prominent business leaders. The original members were nominated from leaders in business, industry, education, the military, and other professions. Its declaration of purpose was to:- Preserve, protect, and promote the American free enterprise system.
- Honor corporate entities and other organizations that contribute to or are examples of success attained under free enterprise, and to recognize contributions to that system.
- Publish and record the histories and achievements of such enterprises and organizations.
- Encourage and stimulate original research and writing in the field of business history through a program of academic awards, grants, and fellowships.
In the late 1940s, Penrose built the society's headquarters on Newcomen Road in rural Exton, Pennsylvania, complete with a 2,700 volume library and museum, featuring a range of antique model steam engines operated by hand cranking or electricity. Beside a chapel stood a belltower that played a carillon. Designed by the Philadelphia architect Briton Martin, the campus had offices, guest houses, and a printing shop for Newcomen Publications, Inc., which Penrose founded to produce the society's corporate and academic histories, distinctive booklets illustrated with a mix of commissioned and antique engravings. At Seapoint Beach in Kittery Point, Maine, the society maintained a summer retreat with guest cottages in Tudor style.
Penrose appeared to know personally the top executives of every major company in the United States, and by charisma and will, made Newcomen an important part of their lives. Called a "benevolent despot," he oversaw every detail on the society's production line of tributes to organizations, from editing and publishing an average of 55 booklet histories per year, to officiating across the country at 60–70 luncheons and dinners annually, at which the histories were orated by their authors. Except for educators, expenses were usually paid by the enterprises being honored, which bought for distribution over 12,000 copies to enhance their reputations. It is no exaggeration to say that, in its heyday, anyone who was anyone in American commerce, manufacturing, and academia belonged to The Newcomen Society in North America. In 1952, Time Magazine referred to Penrose as "a combination of P. T. Barnum and the Archbishop of Canterbury." It quoted him saying:
Reluctant to slow down with age, Charles Penrose, Sr. died suddenly in 1958, the year he finally became president. The chairmanship next went to his son, Charles Penrose, Jr.. By 1981, The Newcomen Society in North America had 17,000 members.