William Coffin Coleman was born on May 21, 1870 in Chatham, New York, to Robert and Julia Coleman.

When William was ten months old, his parents took him by train and wagon 1,500 miles to a land claim that they had purchased in Labette County, Kansas near the town of Mound Valley.

Robert Coleman died when William C. was 11 years of age. When William was 14, his Mother leased the farm and William moved to Parsons, where he attended the high school. He completed the three year high school course in two years. He then enrolled in the State Teacher's College at Emporia completing his course of study in 1893. Following graduation, he taught for a year at Ottawa University and met his future wife, Fannie Sheldon. He then became principal of schools at Blue Rapids, Kansas. After two years of teaching, he gave up teaching to study law at the University of Kansas. To pay for his studies, he sold typewriters.

While on a trip to Alabama, Mr. Coleman saw the brilliant white light produced by a gasoline mantle lamp shining from a store window. The illumination was so good that he decided to sell a line of lamps instead of typewriters. The Irby-Gililand Company of Memphis, Tennessee produced the lamps.

Mr. Coleman was so successful in selling the gasoline lamp that in 1900, he started the Hydro-Carbon Light Company in Wichita, Kansas. In 1903, he bought the rights to the original patent for the lamp. He also purchased the Irby-Gililand Company for $3,000.00. By 1905, he began manufacturing the lamps at a small factory in Wichita, Kansas. This was the beginning of the Coleman Company, even though the name of the Irby-Gililand Company would not change to the Coleman Company until 1913. By 1929, the Coleman Company could produce 2,500 lamps; 100,000 mantles, 600 camp stoves and 100 gasoline cook stoves per day.

W. C. Coleman died November 6, 1957. His company has continued to grow. It is an internationally known company with divisions all over the world.