On this day in Alabama history: Businessman John Harbert III was born
(Museum purchase with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. John M. Harbert III under the direction of Dr. Keehn W. Berry Jr., president of the BMA Photography Guild. © Yousuf Karsh)
July 19, 1921
John Murdoch Harbert III was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and his family moved to Birmingham when he was a child. After serving in World War II, Harbert returned to Alabama and completed his degree in civil engineering at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). With his brother and two others, he started Harbert Corporation in 1949. Among the Birmingham-area projects developed by Harbert are the Elton B. Stephens Expressway, Riverchase Galleria mall, Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and Regions Harbert Plaza downtown. The company also developed pipelines, bridges, highways and more around the world. In Alabama, he and his wife supported philanthropic endeavors, including education and the arts. Harbert died in 1995.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
