James Gamble (3 April 1803 – 29 April 1891) was an Irish-American soap industrialist.[1] He was the co-founder of Procter & Gamble Company in 1837, along with William Procter.
Early life
Gamble was born on 3 April 1803, at the Graan near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland, and went to Portora Royal School.[2] His father George Gamble, who was a Methodist minister, decided with his family to escape the depression in Ireland.[3] They emigrated to the United States in 1819. The Gambles arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on a flat boat down the Ohio River destined for Illinois. His family stopped in Cincinnati when he was seized with an illness. Staying in the city, his father established a nursery and Gamble apprenticed as a soap maker. Cincinnati then was a major pig-butchering center and produced large amount of pig fat used for making candles and soap.[4]