Elton Bryson Stephens Sr.

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Lua error in Module:Infobox at line 235: malformed pattern (missing ']'). Elton Bryson Stephens Sr. (1911–2005) was an American businessman from Alabama, who founded EBSCO Industries.

Early life

Stephens was born on August 4, 1911, in Clio, Alabama.[3][4] Stephens graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1932.[5]

Career

Stephens founded Military Service Co. in 1944, with US$5,000.[4][6][7] The company sold magazine subscriptions to the United States Army.[6] It later became known as EBSCO Industries, a diversified company in "information services, publishing and digital media, outdoor products, real estate, manufacturing and general services."[4]

Philanthropy

Stephens established the Metropolitan Arts Council of Birmingham in 1986.[4] He donated $15 million to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, where he was chairman of its board of trustees, and where the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center was named after his late wife.[4] Additionally, he donated $1 million to the United Way of Central Alabama in 1997, joining their Million Dollar Roundtable.[4] For charitable contributions to the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Stephens Family Gallery is named in his family's honor.[4] The Red Mountain Expressway was renamed the Elton B. Stephens Expressway by the City of Birmingham on September 11, 1975.[4]

With his son James, Stephens donated $2.5 million to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.[4] They also paid $15 million for the construction of the Elton B. Stephens Science Center on the campus of Birmingham–Southern College.[4][8]

File:Stephens Science Center, Birmingham-Southern College.JPG
The Elton B. Stephens Science Center on the campus of Birmingham–Southern College.

Personal life

Stephens was married to Alys Robinson.[7] They met as students at Birmingham-Southern College and graduated together in 1932.[9] They had two sons, Elton B. Stephens Jr. and James T. Stephens, and two daughters, Jane S. Comer and Dell S. Brooke.[7] His wife died in 1996.[7]

Death and legacy

Stephens died on February 5, 2005.[3] His son James serves as the chairman of EBSCO Industries.[7]

References

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jim Stephens, In Memoriam: Elton Bryson Stephens, 1911-2005, Serial Reviews, Volume 31, Issue 2, 2005, pp. 80-81
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Michael Tomberlin, Stephens family may be better known in Birmingham for generosity than $4 billion wealth, The Birmingham News, July 10, 2014
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 America's Richest Families: Stephens family, Forbes
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Connor Sheets, Who are the richest Alabamians now that billionaire Marguerite Harbert has passed?, The Birmingham News, March 23, 2015
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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