Masaru “Genius Inventor” Ibuka (1908 - 1997)

Ibuka was co-founder of a tiny recording company that ultimately grew to become the Sony Corporation. One of his most important contributions was to lead the Japanese charge to make their own innovative electronic products instead of simply copying what was being done in the West.  He brought transistor technology to Japan, and Sony built […]

Paul F. Iams (1915 - 2004)

Businessman. A self-taught animal nutritionist whese premium pet foods bearing his name are sold in 70 countries. He started the Iams Food Company at a feed mill in Tipp City, Ohio in 1946, after working for several years as a dog food salesman for a grain company. He later moved his company to Dayton, Ohio […]

Henry Baldwin Hyde (1834 - 1899)

Business Magnate. Founded Equitable Life Insurance Co. in 1859, and built it into one of the country’s largest. (bio by: Ginny M)  Family links:  Spouse:  Annie Truesdell Hyde (1845 – 1922)*  Children:  James Hazen Hyde (1876 – 1959)* *Calculated relationship

Dorothy Rush Hustead (1904 - 1995)

Co-Founder of the famous Wall Drug in South Dakota.  Family links:  Spouse:  Theodore Edward Hustead (1902 – 1999)*  Children:  Bill Hustead (1927 – 1999)* *Calculated relationship

Henry Edwards Huntington (1850 - 1927)

Railroad tycoon and noted collector of art and rare books. The Mausoleum of Henry Huntington and his wife Arabella is considered to be the model for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. John Russell Pope designed the Mausoleum before he won the commission that made him famous. Henry intended the Mausoleum to be a Greek […]

Collis Potter Huntington (1821 - 1900)

19th Century American businessman and railroad magnate, best known as a founding partner of the Central Pacific Railroad. He was born Collis Potter Huntington, the son of a poor farmer, on April 16, 1821, in Harwinton, Connecticut. After he had worked as a farm hand long enough to save $175, he moved to New York […]

Arabella Duval “Belle” Yarrington Huntington (1850 - 1924)

Philanthropist, Art Collector. Wife of railroad tycoon Henry Huntington. The Mausoleum of Henry Huntington and his wife Arabella is considered to be the model for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. John Russell Pope designed the Mausoleum before he won the commission that made him famous. Henry intended the Mausoleum to be a Greek temple, […]

Lee Hunter, Jr (1913 - 1986)

Businessman. A genius at inventing automotive-related devices, he invented the first rapid battery charger in 1936. After inventing an auto wheel alignment system in 1946 that was sold throughout the world, he founded Hunter Engineering. He served as President of the West Central County Association, was on the board of Washington University, and was honorary […]

J B Hunt (1927 - 2006)

J B Hunt Johnnie B. Hunt, who built a nationwide freight-hauling empire after calculating that driving a single transport truck was rather less profitable than owning and managing thousands of them, died Thursday. He was 79. His company announced his death. A family spokesman said Mr. Hunt had been in critical condition at a hospital […]

Haroldson Lafayette “H.L.” Hunt, Jr (1889 - 1974)

Businessman. Born Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr., he was an extremely talented entrepreneur and a Texas oil magnate. He began creating his huge financial empire from a small investment in oil in Arkansas and founded the Hunt Oil Company in Texas, in the 1940s. By the late 1950s, his estimated wealth was between $400 million and […]

George M. Humphrey (1890 - 1970)

Statesman, Businessman. Secretary of the Treasury (1953 – 1957) under President Eisenhower.  Family links:  Parents:  Watts Sherman Humphrey (1844 – 1916)  Caroline Mary Magoffin Humphrey (1861 – 1946)  Spouse:  Pamela S Stark Humphrey (____ – 1979)  Siblings:  Effie G. Humphrey Lamont (1876 – 1943)**  George M. Humphrey (1890 – 1970)  Winifred E. Humphrey Tabor (1894 […]

Anton Hulman, Sr (1864 - 1942)

Father of Anton Hulman Jr. He willed Hulman & Co., a multimillion-dollar business, to his son, who was also a successful businessman and generous philanthropist, and who is best remembered for purchasing and resurrecting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which had fallen into disrepair through inactivity during World War Two, and developing the Indianapolis 500 into […]

Anton Hulman, Jr (1901 - 1977)

Businessman. Yale-educated, he inherited a multimillion-dollar company, Hulman and Company, when his father died in 1942. “Clabber Girl” baking soda was one of its premier products. He is best remembered for having been persuaded by Wilbur Shaw to purchase the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which had fallen into disrepair during an inactive period during World War […]

Howard Robard Hughes, Sr (1869 - 1924)

Inventor. The father of Howard Hughes Jr., he invented the 64 tooth drill bit used to cut through hard rock while drilling for oil, it is still used today. The wealth he accumulated went to his son. (bio by: mike)  Family links:  Parents:  Felix Turner Hughes (1837 – 1926)  Jean Amelia Summerlin Hughes (1842 – […]

George P. Huffman (1970 - 1970)

Founded Davis Sewing Machine Company and the Huffy Bicycle Corporation.  Family links:  Parents:  William P. Huffman (1813 – 1888)  Anna M. Tate Huffman (1820 – 1900)  Spouse:  Maude McKee Huffman (1864 – 1927)*  Children:  Horace McKee Huffman (1885 – 1945)*  Siblings:  William Huffman (1838 – 1896)*  Charles T. Huffman (1848 – 1882)*  Torrence Huffman (1855 […]

Ernst Henry Huenefeld (1838 - 1931)

Manufacturer, Inventor. A native of Prussia, he was born at Ladbergen in Westphalia. Huenefeld emigrated to the United States and settled near Cincinnati, Ohio. Soon after the Civil War, he and his partner, John H. Schroer, went into business together importing and selling tin plates and related machinery. He established the Huenefeld Company in 1872 […]

Joseph Lowthian Hudson (1846 - 1912)

Department store magnate. More commonly known as J.L. Hudson, as in J.L. Hudson’s Deptartment Store, he came to Detroit, Michigan in 1877, opening a men’s & boy’s clothing store in 1881 at age 35. In 1891, he built an 8-story store in downtown Detroit, which, together with a 1907 addition, was demolished in the 1920s. […]

Capt James Howard (1814 - 1876)

Steamboat Builder. Considered by many to be the most successful steamboat builder in American history. Founder of the Howard Shipyards in Jeffersonville, Indiana on the banks of the Ohio River. Steamboats built by Howard included the “James Howard” and the second “Robert E. Lee.”  Of Civil War Fame: the “Glendy Burke,” the “General Buell” and […]

Herman Hover (1905 - 1996)

Entrepreneur.  Owner of the internationally famed Ciro’s,  Hollywood’s trendiest nightclub of the 1940s and 50s.  Born in Brooklyn,  he dropped out of Columbia University’s Law School to become a speakeasy manager and in the 1930s was a publicity man for stage producer Earl Carroll (the “Vanities” revues).  He claimed to have coined the motto for […]

Walter Vann Hough (1930 - 2000)

Businessman. Founder of Wavaho Oil Company, which started in Lacey’s Spring, Alabama, and became a chain of gas stations throughout the southern United States. He used the first two letters of his first, middle, and last name to create the name Wavaho for his petroleum company.

William Horne (1970 - 1970)

Started a road transport business that was bought out by the Pickfords.

Joseph V. Horn (1970 - 1941)

Businessman. The son of the owner of a surgical supply company, he grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and established a restaurant business. Advertizing for a partner, Horn met and hired  Frank Hardart in 1886. Hardart introduced the French-drip coffee that is generally credited with the firm’s early success, and additional restaurants were opened. In the […]

Mark Hopkins (1813 - 1878)

Businessman. He was a 19th Century railroad tycoon, best known as a founding partner and Treasurer of the Central Pacific Railroad.  Born in Henderson, New York to a family of Puritan roots, he started his career in the mercantile trade at the age of 16, first as a clerk in Niagara County, New York and […]

Herbert William Hoover, Sr (1877 - 1954)

Founder, with his father of W.H. Hoover Company, which made saddles until 1908.  Company name changed to Electric Suction Sweeper Company, making the first successful vacuum cleaners. In 1922 it was renamed the Hoover Company. (bio by: Ginny M)  Family links:  Parents:  William Henry Hoover (1849 – 1932)  Susan Troxel Hoover (1846 – 1925)  Spouse: […]

George W. Hoover (1970 - 1924)

Built the Hollywood Hotel.  Family links:  Spouse:  Mary C. Hoover (1853 – 1934) Inscription:Father

Soichiro Honda (1906 - 1991)

Business Magnate. In 1948, he established the Honda Motor Company. Since then, Honda has continued to be one of the world’s leading companies, selling millions of products worldwide including motorcycles, power equipment, ATVs, generators, marine engines and of course, automobiles. (bio by: db)

Benjamin Leroy Holt (1849 - 1920)

Inventor. By the 1890s, with his partner Daniel Best as the Holt Manufacturing Company, he was making steam-driven wheeled tractors and harvesters to replace horse-drawn harvesting machines on large farms. In 1906, he built, patented and manufactured the first practical crawler-type tread tractor. With the success of his tractor, he founded Holt’s Caterpillar Tractors Company […]

George Melvin Holley, Sr (1878 - 1963)

Automotive Engineer and Designer. In 1899, he and his brother Earl founded the Holley Motor Company and sold 600 Holley Motorette automobiles between 1902 and 1906. But it was their design of the Holley carburetor that revolutionized gasoline engine development. In 1903 the Holley Carburetor Company produced carburetors for the Curved Dash Oldsmobile and then […]

Earl B. Holley (1881 - 1958)

Founded Holley Motor Company in 1899 to produce George Holley’s motorcycles and engines. Produced and sold 600 Holley Motorette automobiles between 1902 and 1906. Supplied carburetors to Oldsmobile in 1903, then became a major supplier to Ford Motor Company. The three-wheeled motor buggy that George Holley built at age 19 symbolized the kind of career […]

Friedrich Hoffmann (1818 - 1900)

Pioneer of new methods of producing building materials; his memorial makes liberal use of his products. (bio by: David Conway)  Family links:  Spouse:  Bertha Luise Amalie Fluegel Hoffmann (1816 – 1898)*  Children:  Agathe Hoffmann (1848 – 1855)*  Eda Hoffmann (1849 – 1855)*  Fritz Hoffmann (1851 – 1855)*  Hans Hoffmann (1854 – 1855)*  Bertha Auguste Marianne […]