Armand Hammer Named After Dumas Character With AM-Obit-Hammer, Bjt

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Industrialist Armand Hammer often said he was named after Armand Duval, the hero in Alexandre Dumas’ play ″Camille.″

But he conceded later that his father, a socialist, also had in mind the arm-and-hammer symbol of the Socialist Labor Party.

For years, people erroneously thought Hammer was connected to the company that makes Arm & Hammer baking soda.

Irked by the continuing questions, Hammer finally worked out a deal in 1986 that gave his Occidental Petroleum Corp. a 5 percent stake in the baking soda company and him a seat on its board.