James H. Laughlin

James H. Laughlin was a pioneer of the iron and steel industry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was born March 1, 1806 near Portaferry in County Down. Laughlin died on December 18, 1882.

Steel industry

In 1854, Laughlin bought the retiring Bernard Lauth's interest in the steel partnership with Benjamin Franklin Jones. The company was renamed Jones and Laughlin in 1861, later reorganized as J&L Steel.

Involvement in Pittsburgh

In 1844, Laughlin was appointed as a corporator to the board responsible for establishing the Allegheny Cemetery. In 1852, Laughlin and his associates, including B.F. Jones, founded a banking organization that, when chartered, was the First National Bank of Pittsburgh, later Pittsburgh National Bank.

Laughlin was the first president of the Western Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh.

He was a founder of the Pennsylvania Female College, which later became Chatham University.