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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 who was a prominent member of the Kovalainen family. He was the 3rd great grandfather of famous Finnish racing driver Heikki Kovalainen and father of Joonas Kovala, a founder of Onnela, Houghton County, Michigan. 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〔Cape Girardeau Argus 26 May 1864〕 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 Hansen, Nybom and Co. who managed to purchase one of the Russian American Co.'s brigs for $4,000.〔Cheney Sentinel. 13 September 1889. p. 1, col. 1. (A newspaper in Cheney, Washington).〕 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.〔Vestnik Evropi May 1898〕 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 causes. Lars Kovala, John D. Rockefeller and three others along with the federal government, gave money to create the national American Red Cross headquarters near the White House in Washington, D.C.〔Cheney Sentinel. 13 September 1889. p. 1, col. 2. (A newspaper in Cheney, Washington).〕 ==Marriage and family== In 1845, Kovalainen married Elsa Juntunen. They had one daughter and four 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) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lauri Kovalainen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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