Trefethen, Eugene E. (Eugene Edgar), 1909-

Biographical Chronology

• 1909: Eugene E. Trefethen, Jr. born on July 27 in Oakland, California, the son of E. E. and Georgia Carroll Trefethen. Met Edgar F. Kaiser when they were junior high school classmates. Attended University High School in Oakland from 1922 to 1926.
• 1926: Began working for Henry J. Kaiser as a sand and gravel plant laborer at Livermore, California, during school vacations.
• 1930: Graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with an A.B. degree in Political Science.
• 1931: Studied for a year at Harvard Business School. Served as manager of a natural gas pipeline construction project in Montana.
• 1932 - 1934 : Became executive assistant to Henry J. Kaiser and worked with him on the Hoover (Boulder) Dam and other construction projects.
• 1934: Appointed Vice President and Director of the Industrial Company, organized to dispose of equipment that Kaiser had acquired for building the foundations of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Named General Sales Manager of the Sand and Gravel Division of Kaiser Paving Company.
• 1936: Elected Secretary of the Henry J. Kaiser Company, which joint-ventured the construction of the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams on the Columbia River.
• 1937: Married Catherine Morgan on May 7.
• 1939: Elected a Director of the Permanente Corporation (later Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corporation). His daughter, Carla Jean, born on May 10.
• 1941 - 1945 : As Vice President of the Henry J. Kaiser Company, he directed the wartime manufacturing of steel, magnesium, and strategic metals.
• 1943: His son, John Vance, born on July 15.
• 1946 - 1948 : Appointed Vice President of various Kaiser companies, supervising the production of aircraft, aluminum, steel, cement, gypsum, and projects undertaken by Kaiser Engineers.
• 1956: After reorganization of the Kaiser enterprises and the creation of Kaiser Industries Corporation as the parent company, he became Executive Vice President of Kaiser Industries Corporation.
• 1960: Involved in every aspect of management, including the direction of Kaiser construction projects in Ghana, Australia, and Canada, as well as assisting with Henry J. Kaiser's resort and housing developments in Honolulu.
• 1967: After the death of Henry J. Kaiser, Trefethen was elected President of Kaiser Industries Corporation.
• 1968: Purchased the 19th century Eshcole estate and 320 adjoining acres in the Napa Valley.
• 1968: Received an outstanding achievement in business management award from the University of Southern California, School of Business Administration.
• 1973: First Trefethen Vineyards wine produced.
• 1974: Retired on July 31 as President of Kaiser Industries Corporation.
• 1976: Named honorary alumnus of the College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.
• 1978 - 1979 : Served as a Trustee for the voluntary liquidation of Kaiser Industries Corporation.
• 1979: Presented with Alumnus of the Year Award by the University of California Alumni Association.
• 1981: Given Jefferson Award for high ideals and achievement in public service.
• 1985: Received United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Society Community Philanthropy Award.
• 1988: Named winner of the National Philanthropy Day Award for Outstanding Volunteer Fund Raiser.
• 1989: Granted the Berkeley Medal by the University of California, Berkeley.

From the guide to the Eugene E. Trefethen, Jr. Papers, ca. 1930-1980, (The Bancroft Library)