C. L.

Best
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clarence Leo Best (April 21, 1878 September 22, 1951, San
Francisco, California), usually known as C. L. Best, was a pioneering
tractor company executive.[1][2] C. L. Best founded the C. L. Best Gas
Traction Company in 1910 (later the C. L. Best Tractor Company)
then merged his company with Holt Manufacturing Company to form
Caterpillar Tractor Company in 1925.[1] C. L. Best was chairman of the
board of Caterpillar Tractor Company from its founding until his death
in 1951.[3] Patent drawing of the C. L. Best
autotractor from 1915
Biography
C. L. Best started out working for Best Manufacturing Company,
owned by his father, Daniel Best, and eventually became manager of
Best Manufacturing Company's Stockton, California plant.[4]

Best Manufacturing Company was acquired by Holt Manufacturing

Company in 1908. In 1910, C. L. Best left Holt Manufacturing
Working model of the C.L. Best
Company and formed his own company, C. L. Best Gas Traction
autotractor.
Company, to continue his father's work.[5]

Originally operating out of a plant in Elmhurst, California, the C. L.

Best Traction Company became large enough to purchase Daniel Best's former San Leandro, California plant in
mid-1916.[6][7] In 1920, the C. L. Best Traction Company was restructured and renamed the C. L. Best Tractor
Company.

In the mid-1920s, Holt encountered financial trouble. Best's financial backers approached Holt executives to
discuss a merger. On April 15, 1925 C. L. Best Tractor Company and Holt Manufacturing Company merged to
form Caterpillar Tractor Company.[3] C. L. Best remained chairman of the board of Caterpillar until his death in
1951.

He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, CA[8]

See also
Daniel Best
Best Manufacturing Company
Benjamin Holt
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar 60 tractor originally manufactured by C. L. Best Tractor Company

References
1. New York Times & 1951-09-23, p. 85.
2. Arnold 2006.
3. Haddock & Orlemann 2001, pp. 37-38.
4. Maintain! 2007, p. 1.
5. Maintain! 2007, p. 2.
6. Sanders & Feller 2009, p. 105.
7. Beck 2006, p. 495.
 8. Evergreen Cemetery Evergreen Chapel (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3681
3891), resting place of C.L. Best

Arnold, Kay (2006-05-06). "Clarence Leo Best (1878-1951)". Find A Grave. Find A Grave, Inc.
Archived from the original on 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
Beck, Henry E. (2006-04-30). Growin' Up With Men And Machines. Vantage Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0-
533-15163-9. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
Haddock, Keith; Orlemann, Eric (2001-11-11). Paul Johnson, ed. Classic Caterpillar Crawlers. St. Paul,
Minnesota, United States: MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7603-0917-9. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
Sanders, Ralph W.; Feller, Bob (2009) [2007]. Leah Noel, ed. The Farm Tractor: 100 Years of North
American Tractors. Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States: MBI Publishing Company and Voyageur
Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3559-8. Retrieved 2010-11-06. "...the C. L. Best Traction Company of
Elmhurst, California."
"Next Meeting - February 14, 2007 at the Cat N' Fiddle Restaurant" (PDF). Maintain!. Manchester, New
Hampshire, United States: Maintenance Association of the Granite State. FebruaryMarch 2007.
Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-06. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
"C.L. Best Is Dead; Tractor Official; Caterpillar Company Chairman and Co-Founder Started His Own
Concern in 1910". New York Times. New York, New York, United States: The New York Times
Company. 1951-09-23. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2010-11-06. "SAN
FRANCISCO, Sept. 22 Clarence L. Best, who was a founder of the Caterpillar Tractor Company, died
early today..."

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This page was last edited on 21 August 2017, at 23:59.

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