March 30, 1948
William Edenborn is born in Westphailia, Prussia.

1860
He was apprenticed to a manufacturer of steel wire, and shoemakers', and saddlers' awls.

1867
He came to the United States and followed the trade of wire drawing, working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri.

1868
Takes a business course and later a course in mechanical drawing.

1870
In association with Frank M. Ludlow, he erected the first wire mill in St. Louis, Missouri and produced the first coil of wire west of the Mississippi.

October 5, 1876
Married Sarah Drain of St. Louis, Missouri

1877
He organized the St. Louis Wire Mill Company, and as its president, he developed it into one of the largest industries of its kind in the United States.

1882
He began manufacturing barbed wire.

1885
Edenborn built the Braddock Wire Company Plant at Rankin, Pennsylvania.

1898
The American Steel and Wire Company of Illinois was incorporated and Edenborn was elected president.

1899 - 1901
The American Steel and Wire of Illinois was known as the American Wire and Steel of New Jersey until it was sold to United States Steel Corporation for $50,000,000.00 in preferred and common Stocks.

1901 - 1908
He was president of the Louisiana Railroad and Navigation Company, Pittsburgh & Southern Coal Company, and the American Musical Company of New Jersey.  He was a director of the Urania Lumber Company of Louisiana and the St. Louis Iron and Machine Works.

1926
William Edenborn died in 1926, at the age of 78 and is buried in Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The tremendous growth of the wire industry was chiefly due to his inventive and executive ability, his genius as an organizer and his farsightedness.  He may well be called the "father" of the barbed wire industry.  He invented and patented many machines and devices that were installed in barbed wire manufacturing plants, which reduced the cost of wire manufacturing.