Thomas Young (entrepreneur)
{{Short description|British entrepreneur}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Thomas Young
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|05|26}}
| birth_place = Sunderland, England, United Kingdom
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|09|11|1895|05|26}}
| death_place = Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
| nationality = English
| occupation = Founder of the Young Electric Sign Company
| years_active = 1920–1971
| net_worth =
| spouse = Elmina Carlisle
| children =
| parents = George W. Young
Emily Tate Young
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website = {{URL|http://www.yesco.com|YESCO.com}}
}}
Thomas Young (May 26, 1895 – September 11, 1971) was a British entrepreneur from Sunderland, England, who founded the Young Electric Sign Company.{{cite web | url = http://www.yesco.com/company/take-a-tour-back-through-history | title = A Legacy of Light: Take a Tour Back through History | access-date = 10 October 2015 | publisher=YESCO}}
Biography
He was born on May 26, 1895, in Sunderland, England.
Young's family converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his infancy. At age 15, Young and his family sailed from Liverpool, England, to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and continued on to Ogden, Utah, United States, by train.
Young founded the Thomas Young Sign Company on March 20, 1920, in Ogden, Utah. Soon thereafter, Young changed the company name to Young Electric Sign Company. In 1931 he realized that with the start of the construction of Boulder Dam there would be enough electricity for Las Vegas, where gambling was now legal.{{cite news |author=Dave Bernslas |title=Thomas Young |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/thomas-young |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=February 7, 1999 |access-date=2015-10-13 }}
Young and his company specialized in neon signs built for businesses throughout the intermountain west and Las Vegas. He and his company created many of the famous signs in Las Vegas, Nevada, such as the Circus Circus clown sign and the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign (created by Western Neon later acquired by YESCO.{{cite web|url=http://www.yesco.com/lasvegas/|title=Lighting, Billboards & Sign Company in Las Vegas|publisher=YESCO|quote=During the 'Golden Age of Neon' YESCO designers created a steady stream of displays at the Dunes, Sahara, Tropicana, El Morocco and Circus Circus. }}{{cite web|url=http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/news/Pages/CountyCommissiontoHonor%60Welcome'SignDesigner.aspx|title=County Commission to Honor `Welcome to Las Vegas' Sign Designer|publisher=Government of Clark County, Nevada|date=4 May 2015|quote=Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO), which bought Western Neon a few years after the sign was created, is now the sign's owner and operator. }}
He died on September 11, 1971, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
References
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