Hammer, Thorvald F.

Thorvald Frederick Hammer (1893-1987) was a leading industrialist and engineer in the state of Connecticut for over fifty years. He became president of the Malleable Iron Fittings Company (MIF) in 1935 upon the death of the former president, his father, Alfred E. Hammer . His family had been involved in the management of MIF from its inception in 1864. He had started working with the company at the age of fourteen during his summer vacations and became a permanent employee after graduating from Yale University in 1918 and serving in the U.S. Navy during the First World War. He remained in active service with the company until 1969.

As president of the company, he embarked on a program of modernization, which put the production of malleable iron castings on an assembly line basis. At the same time, he installed dust elimination systems and shower bath facilities to protect the health and safety of employees and to improve the environment of the work place.

Mr. Hammer was also an accomplished engineer in his own right. He made a significant contribution to the development of the galvanizing process and was the holder of several original patents. In 1962, Mr. Hammer resigned the presidency and assumed the position of Chairman of the Board when the company was sold to a group of Connecticut businessmen headed by Robert E. Thompson . Thompson became President of the company. In 1969, the company was sold to Waltham Industries and Mr. Hammer retired chairman emeritus. During his retirement, he was an independent engineering consultant.

Thorvald F. Hammer was also a prominent member of several business boards including Southern Connecticut Gas Co., the American Mutual Insurance Co., and the regional board of the Connecticut National Bank . He was a founder of the Branford Historical Society and served as chairman of the Blackstone Memorial Library of Branford, Connecticut, from 1951 to 1986.

He was a lifelong resident of Branford, Connecticut . He was the husband of State Senator Lucy T. Hammer, and they had one daughter, Alexandra Hammer Clark . He died in 1987 at the age of 93.

(Additional biographical information about Mr. Hammer may be found in Series VI, Memorabilia, Biographical and Historical Records.)

From the guide to the Thorvald F. Hammer Papers., undated, 1854-1987., (Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center .)