Death of Founder Wilson Bohannan

On 22 February 1896, our founder, Wilson Bohannan, died at the age of 68. By then, the small padlock business he had started with his son behind their Brooklyn home in 1860 had developed into an established manufacturing operation. Our company history records that Bohannan's patented padlocks were being distributed worldwide before his death. Product development remained an important part of Bohannan's work throughout his career. Company historical material states that he ultimately held 20 lock-related patents; an 1880 company catalogue had already credited him with nine distinct patents by that point. After his death, the business and estate passed to his family, beginning the transition to the next generation of family management