Henry Timken, Sr.

H.H. Timken, son of Henry Timken, founder of the internationally lauded Timken Company, lies here since 1940. After years of battling asthma, the 72-year-old Timken passed away of pneumonia. Having lived in Canton for about 40 years, Timken's mark on Stark County can be seen just about everywhere you turn. Just south of this grave you will find several Timken Company locations and a high school that bears the Timken family name.

Along with his father Henry Timken, H.H. founded the first Timken Company in 1899 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Timken roller bearing revolutionized the way wagons were driven in the earlier twentieth century. It was not long before the family success necessitated a much larger area for manufacturing, which led them to the southwest area of Canton, Ohio. The Timken Roller Bearing Company was relocated to the southwest end of Canton, Ohio in 1901 where it became the anchor of the manufacturing economy in northeast Ohio. The invention of the automobile and its need for roller bearings and axles took the Timken Company from national to international fame nearly overnight. By 1917, the Timken Company was expanding to steel manufacturing, which it still does today. Now global and found in more than seven different nations across several continents, the Timken Company remains one of Canton's largest employers.

H.H. Timken, a popular philanthropist in Canton in the early 1900's, was the victim of an extortion attempt in 1920 that was covered in an article published in 2020 in the Canton Repository. Andrew Nagajczyk demanded $30,000 from Mr. Timken, which he thought he picked up on October 9, 1920 at the corner of Stark Avenue and 20th Street SW. What he actually picked up was a set of handcuffs and a trip to jail when he was arrested by police officers waiting at the site.

Brown, Gary. Remembering the Timken Blackmail Scandal of 1920, The Canton Repository. November 29th, 2020. Accessed October 25th, 2022. https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/2020/11/29/look-back-how-h-h-timken-forgave-his-Blackmailer-1920/6439479002/.

Brown, Gary. A Look Back: October 14, 1940, The Canton Repository. October 14th, 2015. Accessed October 25th, 2022. https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/canton/2015/10/14/a-look-back-oct-14/33264395007/.

Timken Company, Ohio History Central. Accessed October 25th, 2022. https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Timken_Company.