Clinton Hoadley Crane was President of the St. Joseph Lead Company from 1913 to 1947 and served as the first Chairman of the board of trustees from 1947 to 1957.​

Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Crane graduated from Harvard University in 1894. An avid sportsman and yachtsman, Crane’s first assignment involved naval, marine and mechanical engineering projects.​

Assuming the presidency of the St. Joseph Lead Company at the age of 40, he was instrumental in transforming a small, debt-ridden Missouri lead producer into a major mining company. Through his untiring efforts, not only as President of the company, but also as Chief Engineer, Crane greatly expanded production output, invested heavily in new equipment and technology and championed the welfare of the company’s employees.​

Not content with improvements in its Missouri mines, he diversified St. Joseph’s holdings and expanded its operations to zinc mines in upstate New York, a smelter acid-plant in Pennsylvania and a lead-zinc-silver mine in Argentina.​

Crane was the first President of the Lead Industries Association. The Colorado School of Mines awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 1929 for his accomplishments in engineering and mining.​

Crane’s legacy continues to this day in The Doe Run Company of St. Louis, Missouri, the largest integrated North American lead producer.​

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