Frederick Gilbert Bourne
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Frederick Gilbert "Commodore" Bourne (December 20, 1851 - March, 1919), was President of the Singer Manufacturing Company between 1889 and 1905. He made the business "perhaps the first modern multinational industrial enterprise of any nationality."^{citation needed} Bourne greatly expanded global production as well as international sales of the Singer sewing machine. Bourne is also remembered as the "among the most important innovators in building vertically integrated firms."^{citation needed}

Bourne maintained an apartment at the The Dakota at West 72d Street next to Central Park in New York City, owned a 1,000-acre (4 km²) summer estate in Oakdale, Long Island, and acquired Dark Island in the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River where he built a magnificent castle. A sailing enthusiast, Bourne served as a Commodore of the New York Yacht Club

He and wife Emma had nine children. Their daughter May married Ralph B. Strassburger, a Pennsylvania businessman and prominent Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder who owned Haras des Monceaux at Lisieux in Lower Normandy, France.

References

• Cast of Characters: Singer Presidents at Singermemories.com
• Frederick Gilbert Bourne profile at the official Singer Castle website
• Normandy Farm, Pennsylvania