William Luke

William Luke (28 May 1829 — 24 November 1912) was the founder of the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company, the forerunner of Westvaco Corporation, in 1888 at Piedmont, West Virginia and West Piedmont, Maryland, USA.

Luke came to America from Scotland in 1852. He was a pioneer of the modern art of papermaking.

In 1888 papermaking still relied heavily on rags as the most common raw material. The price of rags had skyrocketed and the supply had dwindled. The Luke mill was the first to successfully develop the process of using wood for manufacturing pulp. Wood pulp paper is now the most common type.

The town of Luke, Maryland is named for William Luke.