Armand Hammer
An enigmatic industrialist who built Occidental Petroleum into a giant and used his wealth to broker art deals and shadow diplomacy with the Soviets.
1898–1990 (age 92)·American businessman·Birthday: May 21·The Lost Generation
Biography
Armand Hammer’s life reads like a corporate thriller woven with international intrigue. The son of a socialist doctor, he made his first fortune in his twenties by trading medical supplies to the fledgling Soviet Union, a move that earned him both access and notoriety. He parlayed those connections into a sprawling business empire, but his defining acquisition came in 1957 with the nearly bankrupt Occidental Petroleum, which he transformed into a global energy powerhouse. Hammer was less a conventional CEO and more a globe-trotting ambassador for his own interests, cultivating relationships with Soviet leaders from Lenin to Gorbachev and often positioning himself as an unofficial channel during the Cold War. A passionate art collector, he used his acquisitions—and the museum that bore his name—as both a personal passion and a tool of soft power, creating a legacy that was equal parts commerce, diplomacy, and calculated spectacle.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Armand was born in 1898, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Armand Was Born
The biggest hits of 1898
Armand's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1898Born
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1903Started school
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Became a teenager
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1914Could drive
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1916Could vote
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Turned 21
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1928Turned 30
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1938Turned 40
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1948Turned 50
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1958Turned 60
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 70
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 80
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1990Died at 92
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
Key Achievements
- Transformed Occidental Petroleum from a small, struggling company into one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates.
- Negotiated one of the first major fertilizer plant deals between a U.S. company and the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
- Amassed a world-class art collection, later founding the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
- Authored an autobiography, 'Hammer,' that became a bestseller and shaped his public narrative.
Did You Know?
He was named after the symbol of the Socialist Labor Party, the 'Arm and Hammer,' which his father helped found.
Hammer owned a major share in a prize-winning thoroughbred racehorse named 'Armand Hammer.'
He was convicted of making illegal campaign contributions in 1976 but was later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush.
Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, the 'Codex Leicester,' was once known as the 'Codex Hammer' while he owned it.
“When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.”
