A Brief Chronology of Bethlehem Steel
1857 - Earliest predecessor company, Saucona Iron Company, is formed in South Bethlehem, Pa. 1861 - Name of company is changed to Bethlehem Iron Company. 1863 - Company produces first iron railroad rails. 1873 - Company produces first Bessemer steel railroad rails. 1886 - Facilities are added to produce heavy forgings and armor plate for the U.S. Navy. 1899 - Bethlehem Steel Company, a predecessor to Bethlehem Steel Corporation, is formed. Eugene G. Grace joins Bethlehem after graduating from Lehigh University. 1901 - Charles M. Schwab is instrumental in formation of U.S. Steel Corporation and is named its first president. 1903 - C.M. Schwab resigns from U.S. Steel. 1904 - C.M. Schwab forms Bethlehem Steel Corporation, becoming president and chairman of the board. Facilities include steel plant in South Bethlehem, iron mines in Cuba and shipyards on East and West Coasts. 1908 - Bethlehem's new Grey rolling mill begins production of the nation's first wide-flange structural section, which revolutionizes building construction and makes possible the age of the skyscraper. 1913 - Bethlehem acquires Fore River Shipbuilding Co. in Quincy, Mass., and becomes a major shipbuilder. 1914 - At beginning of World War I, Bethlehem has annual steelmaking capacity of 1.1 million tons and employs 15,600 people. During the war, Bethlehem produces vast amounts of ships, armor, ordnance, guns and munitions for the U.S. and Allied forces. 1916 - E.G. Grace named president of Bethlehem with C.M. Schwab continuing as chairman of the board. Bethlehem acquires American Iron & Steel Mfg. Co., Pennsylvania Steel Co. and Maryland Steel Co. with steel operations in Lebanon and Steelton, Pa., and Sparrows Point, Md., coal mines in West Virginia and iron ore mines in Pennsylvania. 1922 - Bethlehem acquires Lackawanna Steel Co. with steel operations in Lackawanna, N.Y., and iron ore mines in the Great Lakes region. 1923 - Bethlehem acquires Cambria Steel Co. and Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co. with steel operations and coal mines in the Johnstown, Pa., area. 1925 - Bethlehem's steelmaking capacity grows to 8.5 million tons a year and employment to more than 60,000. U.S.S. Lexington, America's first aircraft carrier, is launched at Bethlehem's Fore River shipyard.
1930 - Bethlehem enters the Pacific Coast market with the acquisition of steel plants in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. 1931 - Bethlehem acquires McClintic-Marshall Corp., a major fabricator and erector of bridges and buildings. During the decade, Bethlehem fabricates the steelwork for such landmark structures as the Golden Gate Bridge, George Washington Bridge, Rockefeller Plaza, Waldorf-Astoria, Chicago Merchandise Mart and the U.S. Supreme Court. 1939 - C.M. Schwab dies. Position of chairman of the board is permanently retired. 1941 - United States enters World War II, and Bethlehem operations shift to all-out war production of steel plate for ships and tanks, structural steel for defense plants and forgings for guns, shells and aircraft engines. Bethlehem's 15 shipyards build 1,121 ships, more than any other shipbuilder in World War II. At peak of production, Bethlehem employs almost 300,000 people, 180,000 of them in shipbuilding. 1945 - E.G. Grace elected chairman. Bethlehem begins programs to expand capacity to meet post-war demand for steel. 1957 - Bethlehem employs 165,000 people, a post-World-War-II high. 1958 - Bethlehem's annual steelmaking capacity reaches 23 million tons, almost double the 12.9 million tons of the mid-1940s. 1959 - Homer Reasearch Laboratories open to produce new products such as quenched and tempered plate, tin-free steel and new generations of coated steel sheets. 1960 - Arthur B. Homer, head of Bethlehem's WWII shipbuilding program, is elected chairman. 1962 - Bethlehem announces it will build a major integrated steel plant in Burns Harbor, Ind., the most ambitious single project in its history to produce sheet and plate steel for the fast-growing midwest market. Today, Burns Harbor is Bethlehem's largest, most efficient plant with 5.3 million tons of capacity. 1964 - Edmund F. Martin is elected chairman. The Burns Harbor plant begins production, and Bethlehem's first basic oxygen furnaces begin steelmaking at Lackawanna.

1965 - For the first time, more than 10 million tons of foreign steel are imported into the United States.

1966 - Bethlehem fabricates steel for Madison Square Garden, Newport Bridge and second Delaware Memorial Bridge.

1970 - Stewart S. Cort elected chairman of Bethlehem.

1973 - Bethlehem produces 23.7 million tons of raw steel and ships 16.3 million tons of finished steel -- both records -- and reports net income of $207 million.

1974 - Lewis W. Foy is elected chairman.

1975 - Capital expenditures for the year amount to a record $674 million. Bethlehem's first continuous caster begins production at Burns Harbor.

1976 - Bethlehem shuts down its Fabricated Steel Construction Division.

1977 - Bethlehem reduces steelmaking capacity at Lackawanna and Johnstown.

1978 - More than 21 million tons of steel are imported.

1979-  Bethlehem marks its 75th anniversary,recorded in the publication Recollections

1980 - Donald H. Trautlein is elected chairman.

1981 - Bethlehem's sales reach a record $7.3 billion.

1982 - Bethlehem reports a record loss of $1.5 billion, the first of five years of losses as the steel industry goes through a period of unprecedented restructuring. Bethlehem eliminates steelmaking at Lackawanna and shuts down or sells other plants, mills, mines and shipyards. Total employment is reduced by more than half in the next five years.

1984 - Steel imports into the United States climb to a record 26 million tons, and Bethlehem and the United Steelworkers Union successfully file a 201 Petition under U.S. trade laws.

1986 - Walter F. Williams is elected chairman. Bethlehem concentrates its resources on making its steel operations competitive, restructuring its businesses and rebuilding its financial strength. New continuous casters begin production at Sparrows Point and Burns Harbor.

1988 - Bethlehem reports record net income of $426 million.

1989 - Bethlehem announces it will build three new hot-dip galvanizing lines at Burns Harbor, Sparrows Point and in the southern United States. Work proceeds on complete modernization of Sparrows Point hot-strip mill.

1990 - Bethlehem restructures its structural and rail operations.

1992 - Curtis H. Barnette elected chairman. Steel plants established as individual business units, responsible for production, marketing and financial performance. Bethlehem continues restructuring, exiting the bar, rod and wire business.

1993 - New galvanizing lines begin production at Burns Harbor and Sparrows Point. Bethlehem and USWA negotiate a six-year agreement.

1994 - Major capital improvements include new coke oven battery and coal injection facility at Burns Harbor and new electric furnace and head-hardening rail line at Pennsylvania Steel Technologies.

1995 - Bethlehem Structural Products and BethForge undergo major transition, discontinuing steelmaking operations.

1996 - To improve financial performance and stockholder value, Bethlehem undertakes comprehensive restructuring plan involving sale or shutdown of unprofitable businesses and improved competitiveness of core steel operations at Burns Harbor, Sparrows Point and Pennsylvania Steel.

1997 - Bethlehem sells Bethship, Bethforge, CENTEC and coal mining interests, and ends its production of structural shapes. Announces $300-million investment in new cold rolling mill at Sparrows Point.

1998 - Bethlehem merges with Lukens Inc. to become premier plate producer in North America.

1999 - Bethlehem enters into additional joint ventures-Columbus Coatings Company and BethNova Tube, L.L.C.-to participate in growing steel markets at a lower entry cost.

2000 - Duane R. Dunham elected 10th Chairman of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Redevelopment of Bethlehem plant into Bethlehem Works and Bethlehem Commerce Center was recognized by Engineering News-Record magazine as a Newsmaker of the Year.

Today, the combined talents of Bethlehem Lukens Plate make us the premier plate producer. This unique position has grown out of the storied past of two great companies.

Talented people always bring out the full value of any product. That's been the Bethlehem Steel heritage since the 1857 beginnings of our earliest predecessor company. Bethlehem entered the 21st-century with the talents of Eugene G. Grace, Charles M. Schwab, and other giants who devised the products that built the machinery and tools that built industry and that won peace in two world wars. The spirit of enterprise continued with Homer Research Laboratories opening in 1959 to introduce new quenched and tempered plate, with the 1962 construction of the Burns Harbor integrated steel plant, and with the successful modernization and restructuring of the last decade.

Founded in 1810, Lukens prospered under the hands of Rebecca Lukens, who took over the company in 1825 after the untimely death of her husband, Charles.

The devout Quaker mother of four children served as the young nation's first woman CEO, successfully positioning the company for the modern era. Lukens installed the world's largest rolling mill in 1919 and installed electric arc furnace technology in 1955. More recently, Lukens completed a $350-million capital program in 1996 that created a flexible, fully integrated production capability