Calvin Pardee

Calvin Pardee (July 7, 1841 – March 18, 1923) was a businessman from Pennsylvania. He attended the Luzerne Presbyterian Institute and later the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He did business in Pennsylvania and several other states. His business was mostly related to coal, land, and natural gas. He worked in the Glendon Iron Company in his youth. He was later the treasurer of numerous companies in Pennsylvania. These were mostly electric companies. Early life and education Pardee was born on July 17, 1841. He was the son of the industrial tycoon Ario Pardee. In 1851, Pardee, along with one of his brothers, was sent to Wyoming's Luzerne Presbyterian Institute. However, following an argument with the headmaster of the Institute, Pardee was withdrawn from the Institute in 1854. He was instead sent to the West Jersey Collegiate Institute. In 1857, Pardee joined the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and in 1860, he graduated from the institute, where he was in the fraternity Theta Delta Chi. Coal-related work Pardee joined the Glendon Iron Company after he graduated. This company primarily belonged to his father and was based in Easton, Pennsylvania. For 22 years, he worked as the superintendent of mines in his father's company and was based in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. In 1884, he left his father's company to pursue his own work in several enterprises, including the coal business and the natural gas business. He was the founder of the Pardee Brothers Company, which was his most significant source of wealth. In 1903, his children inherited the company.