Francis Marion Smith | |
|---|---|
 Francis Marion "Borax" Smith | |
| Born | February 2, 1846 |
| Died | August 27, 1931 (aged 85) |
| Occupation | Mining businessman |
| Known for | Borax King, founder of Pacific Coast Borax Company |
| Spouses | Mary Rebecca Thompson Wright
(m. 1875)Evelyn Kate Ellis (m. 1906) |
Francis Marion Smith (February 2, 1846 – August 27, 1931) was an American miner, business magnate and civic builder in the Mojave Desert, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Oakland, California. He was known nationally and internationally as "Borax Smith" and "The Borax King", as his company produced the popular 20-Mule-Team Borax brand of household cleaner.[1][2]
Frank Smith created the Key System, an interurban private transit system, which operated in Oakland and the East Bay with a terminus in the San Francisco Transbay Terminal.
- ^ George Earlie Shankle "American nicknames; their origin and significance" 2nd Ed. 1955 pg. 417 ISBN 0-8242-0004-7, ISBN 978-0-8242-0004-6
- ^ Hildebrand (1982), p. xiii.