E. ROBERT KINNEY:

E. Robert Kinney was born in Burnham, Maine in 1918. He was educated at Bates College and Harvard University. He began a crab-canning business that was later sold to Gorton’s; Kinney became president of Gorton’s and later helped negotiate its merger into General Mills. Moving to General Mills headquarters in Minneapolis following the merger, Kinney eventually became chairman and CEO of General Mills, from which he retired in 1982.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Kinney, E. Robert, Oral history interview with E. Robert Kinney. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: AV2010.43

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 990071716900104294

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Use Restrictions: None.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include childhood in Maine; education at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine; launching of a business to can crab and sell it to grocery stores in New England; acquisition of the business by Gorton’s and Kinney’s leadership of Gorton’s during a period of rapid expansion. Also discussed is the merger of Gorton’s into General Mills Kinney’s tenure at president, chairman and CEO of General Mills, and the company’s rapid growth and diversification into clothing, toys, restaurants, and other businesses. Kinney also notes his impressions of life in Minnesota, and his civic involvements over the years.

Interviewed by: James E. Fogerty.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Consolidation and merger of corporations -- United States.

Food industry and trade -- Maine.

Food industry and trade -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Fogerty, James E., 1945- interviewer.

Organizations:

General Mills, inc. -- History.

Gorton's of Gloucester -- History.

Document Types:

Oral histories (document genres)

Interviews.

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