Patent drawing of the C. L. Best autotractor from 1915

Clarence Leo Best (April 21, 1878 – September 22, 1951, San Francisco, California), usually known as C. L. Best, was an American manufacturing executive.[1] C. L. Best founded the C. L. Best Gas Traction Company in 1910 (later the C. L. Best Tractor Company) then merged his company with Holt Manufacturing Company to form Caterpillar Tractor Company in 1925.[1] C. L. Best was chairman of the board of Caterpillar Tractor Company from its founding until his death in 1951.[2]

Biography

Working model of the C.L. Best autotractor

C. L. Best is a brother of SAE. He started out working for Best Manufacturing Company, owned by his father, Daniel Best, and eventually became manager of Best Manufacturing Company's Stockton, California plant.[3]

Best Manufacturing Company was acquired by Holt Manufacturing Company in 1908. In 1910, C. L. Best left Holt Manufacturing Company and formed his own company, C. L. Best Gas Traction Company, to continue his father's work.[4]

Originally operating out of a plant in Elmhurst, California, the C. L. Best Traction Company became large enough to purchase Daniel Best's former San Leandro, California plant in mid-1916.[5][6] In 1920, the C. L. Best Traction Company was restructured and renamed the C. L. Best Tractor Company. The most successful tractor produced was the C. L. Best 60 Tracklayer, later produced as the Caterpillar Sixty.

In the mid-1920s, Holt encountered financial trouble. Best's financial backers approached Holt executives to discuss a merger. On April 15, 1925 C. L. Best Tractor Company and Holt Manufacturing Company merged to form Caterpillar Tractor Company (later Caterpillar Inc.).[2] C. L. Best remained chairman of the board of Caterpillar until his death in 1951.

He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, CA.

References

  1. 1 2 New York Times & 1951-09-23, p. 85.
  2. 1 2 Haddock & Orlemann 2001, pp. 37–38.
  3. ↑ Maintain! 2007, p. 1.
  4. ↑ Maintain! 2007, p. 2.
  5. ↑ Sanders & Feller 2009, p. 105.
  6. ↑ Beck 2006, p. 495.
  • Beck, Henry E. (2006-04-30). Growin' Up With Men And Machines. Vantage Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0-533-15163-9. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  • Haddock, Keith; Orlemann, Eric (2001-11-11). Paul Johnson (ed.). Classic Caterpillar Crawlers. St. Paul, Minnesota, United States: MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7603-0917-9. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  • Sanders, Ralph W.; Feller, Bob (2009) [2007]. Leah Noel (ed.). The Farm Tractor: 100 Years of North American Tractors. Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States: MBI Publishing Company and Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3559-8. Retrieved 2010-11-06. ...the C. L. Best Traction Company of Elmhurst, California.
  • "Next Meeting - February 14, 2007 at the Cat N' Fiddle Restaurant" (PDF). Maintain!. Manchester, New Hampshire, United States: Maintenance Association of the Granite State. February–March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  • "C.L. Best Is Dead; Tractor Official; Caterpillar Company Chairman and Co-Founder Started His Own Concern in 1910". New York Times. New York, New York, United States. 1951-09-23. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2010-11-06. SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22 Clarence L. Best, who was a founder of the Caterpillar Tractor Company, died early today...
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