Business & brands / Science & invention
Alex Manoogian
1901–1996 · industrial engineer, businessman, philanthropist
Armenian-born engineer who came to Detroit in 1924, founded Masco, introduced the Delta washerless faucet, and donated the Manoogian Mansion, the official home of Detroit's mayors.
- Born
Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now İzmir, Turkey)- Died
aged 95- Also known as
- Alexander Manoogian
- Detroit years
- 1924–1996
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Manoogian was born in Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire in 1901 and, like many Armenians, left after the upheavals of the war years. In 1924 his family moved to Detroit, drawn by the booming auto industry, and he started a small company making screw-machine parts for carmakers, which grew into the Masco Corporation. In 1954 he patented and brought to market the first successful washerless ball-valve faucet, sold as the Delta faucet after the triangular cam inside; it turned Masco into a leading maker of plumbing products, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1969. With his wife Marie he became one of the great philanthropists of the Armenian diaspora, funding schools, churches and cultural centers worldwide, including an Armenian school in Southfield. In 1966 the couple gave their riverfront house to the City of Detroit, which has used it ever since as the mayor's official residence. Wayne State's Manoogian Hall is named for him.
Highlights
- Settled in Detroit in 1924
- Founded the Masco Corporation
- Introduced the Delta washerless faucet, patented 1954
- Donated the Manoogian Mansion to Detroit in 1966
- Reinterred at Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia, in 2007
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Memorial · 1966–
Manoogian Mansion
Riverfront house the Manoogians donated to the city in 1966; it has served as the official residence of Detroit's mayors ever since (not open to the public).
Memorial
Manoogian Hall (Wayne State University)
Wayne State's center for international languages and linguistics, named for Manoogian.