The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-12-30
STEPHEN BIRCH
 SUCCUMDS AT eO.
kennecOtt Copper Founder
 We'll Known to Many I Chase Officials Here

stephen Birch, founder and chair man of the board of the Kennecott Copper company who is well-known to many officials of the Chase Brass and Copper Company of this city which is subsidiary of that firm, died yesterday at Dostor's Hospital in New York city at the age of 68. It is expected that many employees of the local Chase plant will attend the funeral in New York city.
 MT. Birch was mining engineer in Alaska for the Morgan-G -Guggen- heir Syndicate at the turn of the century and later, as director of the syndicate, he developed numerous projects, including copper mines. The Kennecott Copper Company, with MT Birch as its head, was formed i'll 1915 in 8 merger of sev- eral of the syndicate's interests. In the last twenty-five years, the com pany has become the largest copper producing concern in America and is second only to Anaconda Copper Company as a copper fabricator. Its properties hold an estimated IA per cent of the worlds copper, and at capacity the company can produce 1,000.000,000 pounds of copper an- nually.
 MT. Birch was born in New York the son of Stephen and Emily Mar shall Birch. His mother was a de- scendant of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was educated in Trinity school and at New York University. Before completing his course at the univer- Sity he quit to take part in the sur- veying of subway routes under Will liam Barclay Parsons.
 In 1890 he was graduated from the Columbia University School of Mines. Later he was sent to Alaska by H. o. Havemeyer, a leader in the sugar business, to examine mining lands there. His inspection resulted in the purchase of the Bonanza mine by MT. Havemeyer. In 1899 he and four other men were the first white persons to explore the area between Valdez and the Yukon river and Dawson.
 As result of these explorations, the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad was built by the Morgan Guggenheim Syndicate. The syn- dicate built up numerous prosperous communities in the interior. MT. Birch helped form numerous enter prises, including fishing, mining, railroad, banking and steamship companies in and near the area.
 The Kennecott Copper Company grew out of one of these properties. hte Kennecott Mines Company. At first primarily an Alaska concern, the company grew until 1t owned properties all over the world. It dropped its Alaska operations in 1888. Today two thirds of it's mines are in Utah, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona, and many are in Chile. Tn 1889 the company earned $S4,- OO0,0JO.
 MT. Birch was also chairman of the board of the Braden Copper Company and president of the Alaska Steamship Company and the Copper River & Northwestern Rail- road, all subsidiaries of ,Kennecott Copper. He was a director of the Alaska Development and Mineral Company, the Bankers Trust Com pany, the Utah Copper Company and several railroads in the North west.
 He lived at Mahwall, N. J., and his office was at 120 Broadway. He was a member of t ehUnion, Recess, Bankers, Tuxedo, Piping Rock and Houvenkopf Country Clubs.
 MT. Birch's wife, the former Mary c. Rand, of Minneapolis, died in l930. Surviving are a son and daughter, Stephen Birch jr. and Miss Mary M. R. Birch; a brother, John Harvey Birch, of New York and Mrs. R. E. Meier, of Glen Rock, Md.
 Baseball is now the nrincinal