Revision 747740050 of "Lauri Kovalainen" on enwiki

{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
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{{Infobox person
| name        = Lars Kovala
| image       = 
| image_size  = 150px
| caption     = 
| birth_date  = 25 May 1818
| birth_place = [[Suomussalmi]], Oulun Laani, Finland
| death_date = 12 November 1894 (aged 76)
| death_place =
| occupation  = [[Businessman]], Investor, philanthropist
| salary      =
| networth    =
| spouse      = {{marriage|Elsa Juntunen|1849}}<br>Elsa Juntunen
| children    = 5
| website     = 
| footnotes   =
}}
'''Lars Kovala''' (originally '''Lauri Kovalainen''') (b. 25 May 1818 in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]] - 12 November 1894) acquired his schooling in [[Suomussalmi]], [[Finland]] was a Finnish-born American businessman, merchant, fur trader, and investor coming from one of the most powerful families in Finland in the 19th century seeking [[Independence of Finland|Finnish Independence]]. He was the 3rd great grandfather of famous Finnish racing driver [[Heikki Kovalainen]] and father of [[Joonas Kovalainen|Joonas Kovala]], a founder of [[Stanton Township, Michigan|Onnela, Houghton County, Michigan]], U.S.A.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ilmonen|first=S.|title=AMERIKAN SUOMALAISIA HISTORIA III; YHDYSVALLOISSA JA CANADASSA OLEVAT SUOMALAISET ASUTUKSET|trans-title=American history of Finnish III; Finnish settlement in the United States and Canada|date=1926|page=113|asin=B00AGY26I4|publisher=Suomalais-Luteerilainen Kustannusliike|language=Finnish}}</ref> During the catastrophic [[Finnish famine of 1866–1868]] he arrived in Alaska on board of one of the Russian American Co. ships. He entered the fur trade<ref>Cape Girardeau Argus 26 May 1864</ref> but seeing the decline of demand and in conjunction with the American takeover of Alaska, took advantage of the Russian American Co. equipment and properties being sold. Kovalainen invested in the [[Gustave Niebaum|Hansen, Nybom and Co.]] who managed to purchase one of the Russian American Co.'s brigs for $4,000.<ref>Cheney Sentinel. 13 September 1889. p. 1, col. 1. (A newspaper in Cheney, Washington).</ref> At the end of November the same year, Kovalainen and other shareholders sailed away in the brig. Their goal was the [[Pribilof Islands]] in the northern Pacific Ocean. That which lured them to the distant islands was the possibility of buying up valuable seal skins. Profiting from the seal skin trade he began investing in real estate in the Great Lakes region, Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast.<ref>Vestnik Evropi May 1898</ref> On the advice of corporate attorney Elbert Henry Gary, Kovala began investing in railroads.

Even as a powerful businessman, he was deeply interested in improving the [[quality of life]] of his employees; this led to him becoming a philanthropist, pursuing many [[charitable organization|charitable causes]]. Lars Kovala, [[John D. Rockefeller]] and three others donated money to help create the national [[American Red Cross]] headquarters near the White House in Washington, D.C.<ref>Cheney Sentinel. 13 September 1889. p. 1, col. 2. (A newspaper in Cheney, Washington).</ref>

==Marriage and family==
{{further|Kovalainen family}}

In 1845, Kovalainen married [[Elsa Juntunen]]. They had one daughter and five sons together.

*[[Antti Kovalainen]] (14 March 1847 — 1899)
* Heikki Kovalainen (1848 — )
*[[Joonas Laurinpoika Kovalainen]] (1850 — 1931)
*[[Jaakko Kovalainen]]
*[[Elsa Greta Kovalainen]] (18 June 1863 — 24 May 1933)

==Illnesses and death==

In his 70s Kovalainen suffered from moderate depression and digestive troubles and, during a stressful period in the 1890s, developed [[alopecia]], a condition that causes the loss of some or all body hair. By 1891 he did not have a hair on his body, and he began wearing wigs. The hair never grew back, but his other health complaints subsided as he lightened his workload and moved back to Suomussalmi, Finland in 1892.

Kovalainen died of [[arteriosclerosis]] on 12 November 1894 in Suomussalmi, Finland, less than seven months shy of his 77th birthday. He was buried in Suomussalmi, Oulun Laani, Finland.  Attending his funeral included the future president of Finland, [[Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg]]<ref>Vestnik Evropi May 1898</ref>.

Fortune rumored to have been passed to Kovala’s 2nd great grandson, a direct decedent of King Edward I, whereabouts unknown, an eccentric recluse suffering from agoraphobia and Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)<ref>TV Guide & Sunday Times Magazine (STM); 2005: 20 Feb</ref>.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalainen, Lauri}}
[[Category:1818 births]]
[[Category:1894 deaths]]
[[Category:American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Finnish emigrants to the United States (1809–1917)]]