Solomon Trone

Solomon Trone (May 11 [May 23], 1872, Jelgava, Courland Province, Russian Empire - 1969, Italy) was a Russian and American engineer who made an important contribution to the electrification of the USSR, and acted as an industrial advisor to Israel, China and India through his work in industrial planning. Featured as a central character in the book by Ilf and Petrov "One-Storied America" under the name of Mr. Adams.
==Biography==
Solomon, or Zalman-Peisach Trone, was born in Mitava (now Jelgava, Latvia) to Abram Trone and Esther Levi, the daughter of a rabbi. He worked in the St. Petersburg branch of the company "General Electric" - "Russian Society of the General Electricity Company". He was engaged in projects to create hydroelectric power plants. After witnessing the events of Bloody Sunday 1905 he adopted more radical views. In 1906 he became a full member of the Russian Technical Society in the VI (electrical) department.
He was the manager of the Vladivostok branch of the Russian branch of the General Electricity Company (General Electric). He was a member of the Society for the Study of the Amur Territory and was vice-chairman of its committee, which was engaged in the publication of a geological map of the region (authored by P. V. Wittenburg) and the presentation of competitive awards to researchers.
In 1916, in connection with the World War I, and the nationalization of the General Electric company's Russian property, he emigrated to the United States with his wife and son Dmitry. Later, in St. Petersburg in 1917, Trone was able to open negotiations that would eventually develop into contracts between General Electric and the later Soviet Governments.Rogger, Hans. ‘Amerikanizm and the Economic Development of Russia.’ Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 23, No. 3. , July 1981: 382-420.Bailes, Kendalle E. ‘The American Connection: Ideology and the Transfer of American Technology to the Soviet Union, 1917-1941.’ Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 23, No. 3., July 1981: 421-448.Department of State. ‘Passport Application: Gerard Swope.’ April 19, 1917.Department of State. ‘Passport Application: C. H. Minor.’ February 26, 1918.Trone, Solomon. ‘Brief Sketch.’ Biographical, Paris, France, July 26, 1950.General Electric Director’s Records (Solomon Trone)Фонд 1367. Опись 8. Дело 1051 / Фонд 1367. Опись 8. Дело 1022 / ЦГИА. Фонд 1367. Опись 4. Дело 76.’ St. Petersburg, Russian Federation: St. Petersburg Historical Archive Russia, 1916- 1918.Swope, Gerard, interview by Columbia University Library Collections. Reminiscences of Gerard Swope (1953)
Trone also took part in the events of the February Revolution as an ambulance driver.Federal Bureau of Investigation. ‘Matter of Trone – European Neutrality Matter.’ Investigation, November 9, 1917 – November 7, 1920.Trone, Solomon. ‘Brief Outline of my Engineering Experience.’ Biographical, Delhi, India, 1949.
He continued his career in General Electric and became one of the directors of its subsidiary International General Electric Company (I.G.E.). In 1928, Trone persuaded the board of the parent company to conclude a contract with the Soviet Union, signed by him, Owen Young and the head of the IGE, Charles H. Minor. 
This agreement not only played a major role in the implementation of the GOELRO electrification plan, but also may have contributed to the recognition of the Soviet Union by the United States.
Trone spent some time in the USSR for business but lived in Schenectady, in the state of New York, which he considered to be his main place of residence. In 1931, Trone became a U.S. citizen.Trone, Solomon. ‘Biographical statement regarding passport.’ August 14, 1953. Passport Office Shortly after this Trone retired from General Electric. Between 1935 and 1936 Trone gave a tour of the United States to the Soviet writers Ilf and Petrov.Ilia Il’f Zapisnie knizki 1925 - 1937, Pervoe polnoe izdanie, Commentaries(notes). Edited by Alexadra Il’f. Moscow: Moskva ‘Tekst,’ 2000. Trone's dialogue and his activities while giving the tour to the writers became a major component of the book in the fictional character of Mr. Adams.I. Ilf, E. Petrov. One-story America. Letters from America / Compilation, introductory article by A. I. Ilf. – M .: (Письма из Америки / Составление, вступительная статья А. И. Ильф.) "Text", 2011. – 511 p. – ISBN 978-5-7516-0960-3
In 1940, the Joint Distribution Committee, an American Jewish charity for refugees sent Trone to visit France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Portugal in search of Jewish refugees in transit and concentration camps. He was to select participants for the Sosua agricultural project that had been the result of the Evian Conference concerning the plight of Jewish refugees.Federal Bureau of Investigation January 12, 1951); (Hoover, Correspondence J. E. Hoover to State Department and CIA June 13, 1950Ross, Nicholas. ‘Sosua: A Colony of Hope.’ American Jewish History, Vol. 82 No. 1- 4, 1994.Wells, Allen. Tropical Zion. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2009
From the 1940s to the 1950s Trone was, for various short periods of time, an advisor on Industrial planning to Prime Minister Nehru in India and the Kuomintang government in China.Trone, Solomon. General Report on Taiwan, unpublished manuscript submitted to the National Resources Commission. Nanking, China: National Resources Commission, 21 January 1948. Although there was not much success in either position Trone was able to advise upon the development of the island of Taiwan into an independent industrial economy.Wang, Hong-zen. ‘Class Structures and Social Mobility in Taiwan in the Initial Post-War Period .’ The China Journal, No. 48., July, 2002: 55-85.Trone, Solomon. General Report on Taiwan, unpublished manuscript submitted to the National Resources Commission. Nanking, China: National Resources Commission, 21 January 1948.
In 1952, Trone, at the invitation of Hillel Dan, head of the construction company Solel Bone, closely associated with the Histadrut, developed a ten-year plan for the development of reparations from Germany. Despite Dan's efforts, the Israeli government never approved Trone's plan. In June 1953, at a budget debate in the Knesset, Ben-Gurion reproached Trone and other invited foreign experts for the absence of a "Zionist spark".D. Schiffman, W. Young, Y. Zelekha, The Role of Economic Advisers in Israel’s Economic Policy, Springer: 2017, p. 126—127
In 1953, while in London, England, Trone failed to obtain an American passport to replace the expired one. In 1965 Trone's passport was reinstated, although he spent the rest of his life mainly in London.
Category:1872 births
Category:1969 deaths
Category:People from Jelgava
Category:Engineers
Category:Managers