Henry Clay Frick ( December 19 , 1849 – December 2 , 1919 ) was an American industrialist , financier , union-buster , and art patron . He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company , was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company , and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel manufacturing concern . He also financed the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company , and had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania . He later built the historic neoclassical Frick Mansion ( now a landmark building in Manhattan ) , and upon his death donated his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated Frick Collection and art museum . However , as a founding member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club , he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the South Fork Dam that caused its failure , leading to the catastrophic Johnstown Flood . His vehement opposition to unions also caused violent conflict , most notably in the Homestead Strike
Johnstown Flood
Johnstown Flood
Henry Clay Frick