This Day in History
This Day in History (1978): Kelberer Assumes Board Chairman, CEO Posts
John J. Kelberer began his career with the company when he joined the Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company in 1950.
From the front page of the Jan. 4, 1978, edition of The Arabian Sun
John J. Kelberer, Aramco's senior vice president of Operations since 1975, was elected chairman of the board and designated the company's chief executive officer at the recent board of directors meeting held in London.
At that same time, R.W. Powers, Aramco president since 1973, was elected vice chairman of the board. Both elections became effective Jan. 1
At a meeting of the shareholders, R.C. Shields was elected an Aramco director from Texaco, replacing L.W. Folmear, who is retiring. Also, F.B. Fugate, senior vice president of Project Management and Contruction, was elected a director, and R.P. Wohlgethan was elected comptroller.
Kelberer's designation as chief executive officer culminates a career that began when he joined the Trans-Arabian Pipe Line company (Tapline) as a communications engineer in 1950, after receiving his bachelor of science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Kelberer transferred to Aramco in December 1971 as acting general manager of Government Relations. Following an assignment in New York as general manager, Oil and Materials Supply, he returned to Dhahran in April 1874 as a company vice president and director. he was named a senior vice president in 1975.
Caption for top photo: John J. Kelberer and R.W. Powers.
Also on this date
2010 — The Burj Khalifa officially opens in Dubai
2007 — The 100th U.S. Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history
2004 — Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars
1999 — Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota
1990 — Pakistan's deadliest train accident results in 307 deaths and 700 injuries after an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train
1972 — Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London
1959 — Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
1958 — Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite (launched by the Soviet Union in 1957) falls to Earth
1951 — Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for a second time
1918 — The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany, and France
1853 — Solomon Northrup, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, regains his freedom. His memoir "Twelve Years a Slave" later becomes a bestseller.
1643 — English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton is born what then was Christmas Day (on the Julian calendar)
46 — Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina
