charles r. sligh
Charles Sligh (b.1850 d.1927) was the founder, president, and general manager of Sligh Furniture Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1880. At the time of his death in 1927, it was the largest manufacturer of bedroom furniture in the world, employing nearly 1,500 workers.
He pioneered the idea of producing matching moderately priced bedroom furniture in suites as opposed to the then current practice of one company specializing in beds, another bureaus, and so on.
Mr. Sligh was the leader of his time in global thinking. He traveled to Honduras in 1883 and established the Honduras Mahogany Company as a source for mahogany. He broke a cartel of U.S. importers of German mirror and glass in 1890, when they restricted his supply, by traveling to Europe and finding other manufacturers ... to the benefit of the entire industry.
Mr. Sligh had a profound sense of civic and industry responsibility. He ran for governor of the State of Michigan in 1896; was a member of the commission which drafted the first Workman's Compensation Act for Michigan in 1912; and was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1922. He was president of the National Furniture Manufacturers Association, president of the Grand Rapids Furniture Manufacturers Association, and a director of the National Association of Manufacturers.