Martin Theodore Kearney (1842 - 1970)

Was one of Fresno’s most significant pioneer land developers. Known as the “Raisin King of California,” he was one of the most prosperous and powerful agricultural leaders in the state. Among his achievements are the establishment of the colony farm system in Fresno County; the development of his 5,400-acre Fruit Vale Estate that focused on […]

Koichiro Kawada (1836 - 1896)

Financier. Served as governor of the Bank of Japan. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)

Lewis Katz (1942 - 2014)

Businessman, Sports Team Owner. At the time of his death, he was co-proprietor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. He was the former principal owner of the New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets. Born into a Jewish family, his father died while Lewis was a child. He attained his bachelor’s degree in Business […]

Carl N. Karcher (1917 - 2008)

Entrepreneur. In 1941, he made a $326 investment in a hot dog stand and turned it into the multimillion-dollar fast food empire known as Carl Jr.’s restaurants. CKE Restaurants Inc., the company Karcher founded, operates 3,052 restaurants in 42 states and 13 countries, employees 62,000 people and has annual sales in excess of $1 billion. […]

Henry John Kaiser (1882 - 1967)

Industrialist. A native of Canajoharie, N.Y. He left school at age 13 and became a photographer’s apprentice and later bought the business at age 20. In 1907 he worked for a construction company in Spokane, Wash., in 1914 started his own construction company in Vancouver, Canada and began a career of government funded projects, including […]

Otto Hermann Kahn (1867 - 1934)

Financier, Investment Banker, and Philanthropist. Born Otto Hermann Kahn, the 5th of eight children to Jewish parents in Mannheim, Germany, he desired to become a musician, and learned to play several instruments before graduating from his secondary education in Mannheim. His father had set plans for him to become a banker and at the age […]

Arthur Judson (1881 - 1975)

Businessman. He was co-founder of the Columbia Broadcasting System and founder and manager of the Columbia Artists Management. In 1915 he was manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Theodore Dehone Judah (1826 - 1863)

Industrialist. A railroad surveyer and engineer, he help to start the Central Pacific Railroad and was one of the founders of the Transcontinental Railroad. (bio by: Tom Cummings)  Family links:  Spouse:  Anna Feron Pierce Judah (1828 – 1895)* *Calculated relationship

James J. Jordan, Jr (1930 - 1970)

Businesman. Well known advertising excutive remembered for his slogans “Ring around the collar, Ring around the collar” for Wisk laundry soap and “Schaefer is the one beer to have when your having more than one” and “Your not clean until you’re Zestfully clean” for Zest soap and other memorable slogans. He was also a counselor […]

Warner La Valle Jones, Jr (1916 - 1994)

Businessman. Served as director and chairman of Churchill Downs, home to the Kentucky Derby for over 50 years. Owned 1953 Derby winner, Dark Star, bred at his throrougbred operation, Hermitage Farm in Goshen, Kentucky.  (bio by: Mike Maloney)  Family links:  Spouse:  Harriet Seelbach Jones (1918 – 2003)* *Calculated relationship

Edward Franc Jones (1828 - 1913)

Military and political leader and Business Magnate. He was raised in Leicester, Massachusetts and entered the dry goods business. In 1854 he joined the militia as a Lieutenant. In 1861 he joined the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry as a Major, soon assuming command and receiving promotion to Colonel. He led the organization on its famed march […]

Carlos Jones (1827 - 1897)

A successful and wealthy farm equipment manufacturer. Retiring from business in the early 1880’s, Jones invested in real estate and became mayor of Brooklyn, Ohio.  Jones purchased 52 acres and built a 160-acre dairy farm. He and his second wife, Mary Branch, opened their farm to 12 children to live and learn for a few […]

Columbus Marion “Dad” Joiner (1860 - 1947)

Oil Man.  He was a rogue wildcatter who at age 70 discovered the East Texas Oilfield,  the largest in the United States at that time.  Born near Center Star,  Alabama,  he studied law and in 1883 set up practice in Tennessee.  From 1889 to 1891 he served in the State Legislature.  Enticed by the bourgeoning […]

Samuel Curtis Johnson (1928 - 2004)

Business Magnate. Johnson was said to be the richest man in Wisconsin according to Forbes Magazine who estimated his wealth at $7.5 billion. He was the fourth generation to head the 118-year-old former Johnson Wax Company now known as SC Johnson. His vision turned it into four global companies employing more than 28,000 people. Under […]

Robert Wood Johnson, II (1893 - 1968)

Businessman, pharmaceutical magnate, philanthropist. Son of Johnson & Johnson founder Robert Wood Johnson and his second wife, Evangeline Armstrong. He started in the business at the bottom, alongside the common workers. He took over for his father at the age of 16, and took full control of his trust at the age of 25. He […]

John Harold Johnson (1918 - 2005)

Businessman. He was the founder of the Johnson Publishing Company Inc., an international media and cosmetics empire headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the largest black-owned publishing company in the world.  Also the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400 Rich List in 1982 with a fortune estimated at close to $500 million.  John Harold […]

Howard Johnson (1897 - 1972)

Ice Cream and Hotel Magnate. Howard Johnson was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1897. He quit school in the eighth grade to work in his father’s cigar store. Johnson served in World War I as a part of the American Expeditionary Force. Soon after Johnson’s return, his father died, leaving him the business and its […]

George F. Johnson (1857 - 1948)

Industrialist. He was born in Milford, Massachusetts and moved to Binghamton, New York where he became a supervisor in a shoe factory. Later he became superintendent of that company’s new plant in Lestershire, New York which was said to be the largest factory of its kind in the entire world. He became co-owner of the […]

Eunice Walker Johnson (1916 - 2010)

Business Magnate. Founder, Director and Producer, Ebony Fashion Fair; Secretary-Treasurer, Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.; Co-Creator, Fashion Fair Cosmetics; Widow of John H. Johnson, Founder of Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. which is the largest African-American owned publishing company in the United States. She is credited with naming the company’s premier magazine, EBONY, which along with Jet […]

Eldridge Reeves Johnson (1867 - 1945)

Inventor and Businessman. Invented a spring-driven motor for phonographs, replacing the old hand-cranked method. Manufactured and sold his own phonographs, and created the Victor Talking Machine Company. The company’s trademark – a dog seated before a phonograph – became internationally famous. Johnson sold his company to RCA in 1927. To this day the company is […]

Edward Mead Johnson (1852 - 1934)

Businessman. He co-founded the “Johnson and Johnson” Company with his brother James Woods Johnson, later joining them was their brother Robert. Together they made names like “Bandaid” bandages, “Enfamil” baby formula, and sterile gauze bandages household names. Today, “Mead Johnson,” named after E. Mead Johnson, is located in Evansville Indiana. Other products to their credit […]

Roger Wolcott Jessup (1889 - 1971)

Business Magnate. Owner of Jessup Farms (a milk dairy). Member of the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors. A park in Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley is named for him. (bio by: Theologianthespian)  Family links:  Spouse:  Marguerite Edith Rice Jessup (1889 – 1973)*  Children:  Lois Jane Jessup (1927 – 1930)* *Calculated relationship

Emil Jellinek-Mercedes (1853 - 1918)

Besides being vice-consul of Austria in Nice, France, he was a businessman and pioneer in the car-business. He was an agent of Daimler in Nice and had many ideas about specifications that would make the cars sell. He also took part in races with the cars from Daimler. He gave the cars the name of […]

Jacob Christian Jacobsen (1811 - 1887)

Industrialist. In 1835 he took over his father’s brewery and introduced German methods of brewing of beer using pure cultivated yeast. In 1846 he began the construction of the Carlsberg Breweries, named after his son Carl. In 1876 he founded the world famous Carlsberg Laboratory, which has played an important role in the development of […]

Joseph Jacobs (1859 - 1929)

Businessman. A pharmacist, he first introduced what was to be known as “Coca-Cola” to the drinking public on May 8, 1886. It had been invented in 1885 by John S. Pemberton.

David H. Jacobs (1921 - 1992)

Real estate developer and former co-owner of the Cleveland Indians. (bio by: Joyce)  Family links:  Spouse:  Barbara Mae Barrow Jacobs (1926 – 2005)* *Calculated relationship

Robert Jacob (1970 - 1970)

In 1870, Jacob purchased Charles Fritz’s interest in the firm of Fritz & Wainwright, a lager beer manufacturing company in St. Louis. The firm name was changed to Samuel Wainwright & Co. Wainwright’s son Ellis purchased Jacob’s interest in the business in 1875. It was sold to the St. Louis Brewing Association in 1889. (bio […]

David Jacks (1822 - 1909)

Founder of Monterey Jack Cheese.  He was born in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland.  In 1841 he joined his two older brothers in America.  He then immigrated to California during the Gold Rush in 1949.He was also a businessman, landowner and developer who acquired thousands of acres in and around Monterey, California.  He owned a dairy that […]

Daniel Cowan Jackling (1869 - 1956)

Industrialist, Mining Executive. A native of Missouri, Jackling was raised by his aunt after having lost both of his parents by the age of two. In 1892 he graduated from the Missouri School of Mines and returned the next year to serve as an assistant professor of Chemistry and Metallurgy. After working as a miner […]

Toshiya Iwasaki (1970 - 1970)

Businessman, Philanthropist. He was the founder of the Asahi Glass company, the first producer of plate glass in Japan and now the largest in the world. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)