Admiral was a medium-sized manufacturer of consumer electronics goods and electric appliances during the late 1930s, when its annual sales were about $2 million. Led by Ross D. Siragusa, the company grew rapidly during the 1940s and 1950s, selling thousands of televisions manufactured at plants in Chicago. By the beginning of the 1960s, when annual sales approached $300 million, the company employed 8,500 people, many of them Chicago-area residents. Like many American electronics manufacturers, Admiral found it difficult to withstand foreign competition during the 1960s and 1970s. By the 1980s, the remnants of Admiral were owned by Maytag, an Iowa-based manufacturer of appliances.

This entry is part of the Encyclopedia's Dictionary of Leading Chicago Businesses (1820-2000) that was prepared by Mark R. Wilson, with additional contributions from Stephen R. Porter and Janice L. Reiff.