Leonard Firestone

{{Short description|American diplomat (1907{{En dash}}1996)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| imagesize =

| ambassador_from = United States

| country = Belgium

| order =

| term_start = June 14, 1974

| term_end = January 20, 1977

| predecessor = Robert Strausz-Hupé

| successor = Anne Cox Chambers

| president = Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford

| birth_name = Leonard Kimball Firestone

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|06|10}}

| birth_place = Akron, Ohio, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|12|24|1907|06|10}}

| death_place = Pebble Beach, California, U.S.

| profession = {{Hlist|Businessman|diplomat}}

| alma_mater = Princeton University

| religion =

| image name = Download LKF.jpg

| children = 3, including Brooks Firestone

| relations = Harvey S. Firestone (father)
Harvey S. Firestone Jr. (brother)
Andrew Firestone (grandson)

}}

Leonard Kimball Firestone (June 10, 1907 {{En dash}} December 24, 1996) was an American businessman, diplomat, and philanthropist.{{cite web|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~paw/archive_old/PAW96-97/12-0319/0319mem.html|title=Leonard Kimball Firestone, class of 1931|date=1996|publisher=Princeton University|accessdate=April 23, 2015|quote=Leonard Firestone died at home in Pebble Beach, Calif., Dec. 24, 1996, of respiratory failure. He was 89. At The Hill School, where he prepared, and at Princeton, he was active in golf and polo. Upon graduation he was employed in sales positions by Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., founded by his father in Akron, Ohio. In 1932, he married Polly Curtis, by whom he had three children. Polly died in 1965. In 1935, Len was appointed sales manager and in 1939 became a director of Firestone. He was named president of Firestone Aviation Products Co. in 1941. He was commissioned in the Navy as a lieutenant, but was assigned to inactive status to become president of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. of California in 1943. ...}}

Early life and education

He was born on June 10, 1907, in Akron, Ohio, to Harvey S. Firestone and Idabelle Smith Firestone. He was educated at The Hill School, and graduated from Princeton University in 1931, where he played golf and polo. He was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, and later became a member of Bohemian Grove.[http://home.planet.nl/~reijd050/organisations/Bohemian_Grove_members_list.htm Planet – 404 pagina][http://akpsi.wustl.edu/famous.php Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912105429/http://akpsi.wustl.edu/famous.php|date=September 12, 2006}}

Career

= Business =

After graduating from college, Firestone was employed by the family company in sales positions. In 1935, he was appointed sales manager and in 1939, became a director of Firestone. He was named president of Firestone Aviation Products Company in 1941.

He was commissioned in the United States Navy as a lieutenant, but was assigned to inactive status to become president of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1943. In 1966, he was the target of an abortive multimillion{{En dash}}dollar kidnap plan.[https://web.archive.org/web/20101028130246/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899100,00.html TIME] He retired as president of Firestone's California operations in 1970.[http://www.abcrecovery.com/awardofmerit/default.asp ABC Recovery Center]

Inspired by a 10{{En dash}}year local weather study, Firestone and two neighboring ranchers developed vineyards in Santa Ynez, California, in 1972. Firestone planted {{convert|250|acre|km2}} of vines, including {{convert|60|acre|m2}} of Chardonnay.{{Cite web |url=http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/wineday/wd0498/wd042798.html |title=WineDay:Firestone Milestones |access-date=October 22, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402062800/http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/wineday/wd0498/wd042798.html |archive-date=April 2, 2007 |url-status=dead }}

In 1975, his son Brooks decided to leave the family business and relocated his family to the Santa Ynez Valley. In partnership with his father, he founded the first commercial winery to crush grapes in Santa Barbara County. The vineyard served as the basis for the major development in California as a global source of wine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.firestonewine.com/About/Our-History|title=Our History {{!}} Firestone Vineyard|website=www.firestonewine.com|access-date=2020-02-01}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_BHJlxKHl0YC&q=Leonard+Firestone+wine&pg=PA272|title=Wines and Wineries of California's Central Coast: A Complete Guide from Monterey to Santa Barbara|last=Ausmus|first=William A.|date=2008-06-30|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-93183-1|language=en}}

= Politics and diplomacy =

A staunch Republican, Firestone was a delegate to the Republican National Convention from California in 1944 (alternate), 1948 and 1952.[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/finn-firth.html The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Finlinson to Fischel] In 1954 he was elected to the city council of Beverly Hills.[http://www.beverlyhills.org/presence/connect/CoBH/Homepage/Local+Government/City+Officials/Election+Information/LG-CL-Z_Election_Results_1950_Present City Election Results 1950–2005]

Firestone was chairman of the Nelson Rockefeller 1964 presidential campaign.{{cite journal|jstor=445290|title=The 1964 Election in California|first1=Totton J.|last1=Anderson|first2=Eugene C.|last2=Lee|date=January 1, 1965|journal=The Western Political Quarterly|volume=18|issue=2|pages=451–474|doi=10.2307/445290}} Firestone was appointed U.S. ambassador to Belgium by President Richard Nixon in 1974, and was reappointed by President Gerald Ford, serving until 1976. He was later chairman of the Richard Nixon Foundation.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D91730F932A25752C0A961948260 L. K. Firestone Weds Caroline Lynch – New York Times]

In January 1977, former president Ford and Betty Ford moved into a home next to Firestone at Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, which later led to the foundation of the Betty Ford Center.[http://www.bettyfordcenter.org/news/innews/narticle.php?id=4 Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation – Betty Ford Center News]

= Philanthropy =

Firestone was a contributor to charities and served as president of the trustees of the University of Southern California and president of the World Affairs Council of L.A. He was a board member of several organizations.

Firestone took a particular interest in charities associated with alcohol abuse, and was cofounder of the Betty Ford Center in 1982. He was also director of the National Council of Alcoholism and also the Eisenhower Medical Center. Firestone also served on the advisory board of the ABC Recovery Center and was a major contributor to the expansion at the ABC Center.

Personal life

In 1932, he married Polly Curtis, granddaughter of journalist and diplomat William Eleroy Curtis.{{cite news |title=FIRESTONE'S SON ENGAGED TO MARRY |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/04/30/100726477.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |access-date=28 April 2025 |agency=The New York Times |date=30 April 1932}} They had three children, including Brooks Firestone and Kimball Firestone, who owned Firestone's Culinary Tavern in Frederick, Maryland.{{cite news |last1=Price |first1=Mark J. |title=Former Firestone rubber executive and board member Kimball C. Firestone dies at 90 |url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2024/06/05/kimball-firestone-grandson-of-harvey-firestone-dies-at-90/73981355007/ |access-date=28 April 2025 |agency=Akron Beacon Journal |date=5 June 2024}}{{cite news |title=Mrs. Leonard Firestone, 55, Wife of Industrialist, Is Dead |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9904E0D81330E23ABC4952DFB766838E679EDE |newspaper=New York Times |date=January 11, 1965 |accessdate=April 23, 2015 }} Polly died in 1965 of cancer. He then married Barbara Knickerbocker Heatley on March 4, 1966. She died in 1985 of cancer as well. He married Caroline Hudson Lynch on January 11, 1987, the daughter of the owner of Oklahoma Ada and Atoka Railroad and former spouse to Edmund Lynch, whose father co-founded Merrill Lynch.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/05/14/archives/caroline-hudson-to-be-wed-in-fall-her-engagement-to-edmund-c-lynch.html|title = CAROLINE HUDSON TO BE WED IN FALL; Her Engagement to Edmund C. Lynch Jr., '48 Yale Graduate, is Announced by Mother|newspaper = The New York Times|date = May 14, 1952}} His grandson is reality TV personality Andrew Firestone. Leonard Firestone was buried at Columbiana Cemetery in Columbiana, Ohio.[http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/OH/CO-buried.html Political Graveyard]

References

External links

[http://www.princeton.edu/~paw/archive_old/PAW96-97/12-0319/0319mem.html Obituary at Princeton University]
[http://www.firestonewine.com/ Firestone wine]

{{succession box|title=United States Ambassador to Belgium|before=Robert Strausz-Hupé|after=Anne Cox Chambers|years=1974–1977}}

Category:1907 births

Category:1996 deaths

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:20th-century California politicians

Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium

Category:American philanthropists

Category:American people of Austrian descent

Category:California city council members

Category:California Republicans

Category:Firestone family

Category:Kidnapped American people