Founder Profile
Hermon W. Cable
Last reviewed: September 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Hermon W. Cable?
Hermon W. Cable is a founder of 3M Company, which was founded in 1902 with J. Danley Budd, John Dwan, Henry S. Bryan and William A. McGonagle.
- Company founded
- 3M Company
- Founded
- 1902
- Co-founders
- J. Danley Budd, John Dwan, Henry S. Bryan and William A. McGonagle
Background
Hermon W. Cable owned a meat market in Two Harbors, Minnesota, and was one of 3M's five founders in 1902.
Founding Story
Cable was the merchant of the founding group, which also included physician J. Danley Budd, attorney John Dwan and railroad men Henry S. Bryan and William A. McGonagle. The deposit they bought near Two Harbors turned out to be anorthosite rather than corundum, the mining plan failed, and in 1905 St. Paul investors Edgar Ober and Lucius P. Ordway took control of the company, which moved to Duluth and then, in 1910, to St. Paul to make sandpaper. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).