John Pierpont “J.P.” Morgan (1837 - 1913)

Financier, Businessman. One of the richest men in the world during his time, he is considered one of the business titans of the Modern Age. He orchestrated the creation of the companies General Electric, United States Steel and numerous others, creating monopolies that brought him both fame and legendary wealth.  Family links:  Parents:  Junius Spencer […]

John Motley Morehead (1870 - 1965)

Business Executive, Philanthropist and Diplomat. The grandson of North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead, he graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1891 and joined his father James Turner Morehead at the Willson Aluminum Company. They discovered the first practical processes for producing both calcium carbide and acetylene, which led them to reorganize Willson […]

Alexander Pollock Moore (1867 - 1930)

Pittsburgh newspaper publisher who was married to actress Lillian Russell.

Joseph William Moon (1850 - 1919)

Carriage and automobile manufacturer. A photographer by trade for 2 years, Joseph then bought and sold buggies before going into the livery business. He then organized the Moon Bros. Carriage Company, a wholesale manufacturer of carriages and later became the president of the Moon Motor Car Company. (bio by: Connie Nisinger)  Family links:  Parents:  Alva […]

John Corydon Moon (1853 - 1933)

Carriage manufacturer. Mr. Moon began his careeer as a photographer & later engaged in the sale of buggies & wagons. In 1882, he began as a manufacturer of vehicles in St. Louis. He & his brother organized the firm of Moon Bros. Carriage Co. in 1882. The company manufactured carriages for the wholesale trade. Six […]

Mervin Jeremiah Monnette (1847 - 1931)

The seventh of twelve children born to Abraham & Catherine Braucher Monnett on their Marion County Ohio Farmstead, Mervin Monnett followed in his father’s footsteps of farming, stock raising and banking, rising to the Presidency of the Second National Bank of Bucyrus (Ohio), Monnette lost his fortune by 1900 when he “quietly” left town and […]

Kenneth W. “Ken” Monfort (1928 - 2001)

Renown Western Cattleman, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist. Born in Greeley, Weld County, Colorado. Ken Monfort became the CEO of the family owned, Monfort Beef Company in 1970 and remained in that position until the sale of the company to ConAgra Red Meat Companies in 1998. Monfort was also known for his philanthropic generosity. He supported several causes; […]

Robert Gerald Mondavi (1913 - 2008)

Vintner. An icon in the wine industry, after helping his family build a successful winery in California, formerly the Charles Krug vineyard, he was ousted by his brother in 1965. The following year at age 52 he established his own vineyard and brand, Robert Mondavi Winery, in the Napa Valley town of Oakville with the […]

John Molson (1763 - 1836)

Brewer. Entrepreneur. He was the founder of the Molson Brewing Company in Montreal, Canada. He was born in Moulton, a village near Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. His father, who had inherited an estate, died when he was only six years old and when his mother died two years later, he and his siblings were evicted from […]

David Halliday Moffat (1839 - 1911)

Businessman. A railroad tycoon and mining magnate, he was the builder of the world-renowned Moffat Road train route in Colorado. He co-founded the “Woolworth and Moffat” department stores (now known as Woolworth’s). One of the founders of Denver University, he was a close friend of Horace and Baby Doe Tabor. (bio by: Salena Odom)  Family […]

Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody (1838 - 1911)

Businessman, Philanthropist.  Founder of Hong Kong University. Born in Bombay to a Parsi family, Mody started a newspaper business as a teenager. He moved to Hong Kong between 1858 and 1860, thereafter becoming a successful businessman. He founded the company Chater & Mody with business partner Sir Catchick Paul Chater in 1868, starting in stock […]

Darius Ogden Mills (1825 - 1910)

Businessman, Philanthropist. A native of New York, Mills first came to California in 1848 after the discovery of gold and opened a general store in Sacramento. Making large profits, he soon started up the bank of D.O. Mills and Co. In 1864, he went to San Francisco where he co-founded the Bank of California with […]

Bertram Mills (1970 - 1938)

Businessman. Internationally acclaimed British circus impresario and pioneer. Halford Mills, Bertam’s father, was the owner of a coachbuilding works in Paddington, London and was also the owner of two farms, where he sent his horses to rest. It was on these farms that Bertram Mills spent most of his childhood and where he was taught […]

Howard C Miller (1905 - 1995)

Founder of the Howard Miller Clock Company.  Family links:  Parents:  Herman Miller (1868 – 1948)  Nellie Breen Miller (1871 – 1939)  Spouse:  Martha M Muller Miller (1902 – 1999)  Siblings:  Howard C Miller (1905 – 1995)  Margaret Miller Harvery-Smith (1907 – 1970)*  Earl Keith Miller (1912 – 1965)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Natural causes

Giles Edwin Miller, Sr (1920 - 1989)

Professional Football Team Owner. In 1953 he bought the Dallas Texans, the first professional football team in Texas. The Texans moved in the 1960’s to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.  He was editor and publisher of the “Park Cities News” from 1957 to 1963 and later owned Dallas radio stations KPCN, KOKE, KIXZ and […]

Frederick Edward John Miller (1824 - 1888)

Businessman. He founded the Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Family links:  Spouse:  Elizabeth Gross Miller (1841 – 1920)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Cancer

Dr Franklin Miles (1845 - 1929)

Medical Entrepreneur. He was the founder and president of the present-day Miles Laboratories in Elkhart IN, which is world famous for the manufacturing and distribution of over-the-counter medical products such as Alka-Seltzer, Flintstone Vitamins, One-A-Day Vitamins, and Bactine. Originally intending to embark in the practice of law, he attended Columbia College in New York NY […]

Lee Miglin (1924 - 1997)

Real Estate Developer and senior partner in Chicago’s Miglin-Beitler Development Firm. Entrepreneur and Chicago business tycoon married to cosmetics pitch-woman Marilyn Miglin of QVC. Father of character actor Duke Miglin (who appeared in Air Force One with Harrison Ford)  Murdered by serial killer Andrew Cunanan in the garage behind the Miglin home on Chicago’s Gold […]

Fred G. Meyer (1886 - 1978)

Supermarket magnate. Born Frederick Grubmeyer, he traveled west and settled in Portland, Oregon, in 1909. There he founded the Java Coffee Company, which was renamed Mission Coffee Company in 1915. In 1922 he founded a grocery store bearing his name; 11 years later, pioneering the concept of “one-stop shopping,” he expanded his store to the […]

George Mesta (1970 - 1925)

Business Entrepreneur. He created the world’s most versatile machinery works at his mile-long plant in West Homestead. Mesta Machine Co. was for a generation the world’s largest machine shop under one roof, manufacturing rolling equipment and other heavy machinery for steel mills around the country.  Family links:  Spouse:  Perle Reid Skirvin Mesta (1882 – 1975)* […]

Orville D. Merillat (1916 - 1999)

Businessman-Philanthropist Served in US Coast Guard during WWII; married Ruth Muller on January 19, 1941; founder, and former President and CEO of Merillat Industries, Inc.; employer of over 3,000 people with more than eleven factories across the United States; recipient of the Michigan Small Business Person of the Year in 1977; co-recipient with Ruth of […]

Chief Two Moon Meridas (1888 - 1933)

Business Figure. Born born Chico Colon Meridan, he became famous and wealthy in the early part of the 20th century by selling herbal medicines, some of which were claimed to be a “cure all”. He claimed to be of Sioux Native American birth, but that claim was never proven.

Alex Mentry (1847 - 1900)

Oilman, Folk Figure. Born Charles Alexander Mentrier in France in 1846, Alex Mentry came to the Newhall, California area in 1873 to make his fortune. An experienced oil driller in Pennsylvania, Mentry soon landed a job digging wells in the Santa Clarita Valley, north of what would become Los Angeles. In 1875 he formed a […]

William Gerhard Mennen (1884 - 1968)

Businessman. The son of Mennen Company founder Gerhard Mennen, he took control of the business in 1912 and built it into a giant corporation. Today it is part of the Colgate-Palmolive Company.

Gerhard Heinrich Mennen (1856 - 1902)

Businessman. He founded of the Mennen Company of Newark, New Jersey in 1878, and built it into a successful manufacturer of talcum, shaving cream and deodorant.

Jean-Antoine Brutus Menier (1795 - 1853)

Entrepreneur.  Founder of the Menier dynasty of chocolate makers.  Born in Germain-de-Bourgeuil,  France,  he was a largely self-schooled (and unlicensed) pharmacist who in 1816 set up shop selling medicinal products in Paris.  Much of his success derived from his use of chocolate to coat bitter-tasting pills.  In the late 1830s he began marketing solid bars […]

Émile-Justin Menier (1826 - 1881)

Entrepreneur,  Politician.  The son of business magnate Jean-Antoine Menier.  He built Menier Chocolate into France’s largest chocolate manufacturer,  a position it held for nearly a century.   Born in Paris,  he was trained as a pharmacist and also studied economics and law.  He took over the family’s pharmaceutical and chocolate-making establishments after his father suffered […]

Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1841 - 1880)

Chemist, Industrialist. Co-founder of the German chemical company AGFA. The second son of composer Felix Mendelssohn, he was born in Leipzig, Germany. After his father’s death in 1847 he was raised in Berlin by an uncle, the banker Paul Mendelssohn. He earned a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Heidelberg (1863) and did pioneering […]

Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1776 - 1835)

Financier. The son of German-Jewish philospher Moses Mendelssohn and father of composers Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. Born in Berlin, he showed an early interest in cultural life, co-founding the Jewish liberal society Gesellschaft der Freunde (1792) and becoming an active member of the Berlin Singakademie (1793). During that time his brother Joseph founded the Berlin […]

Joseph Mendelssohn (1770 - 1848)

Banker. Founder of Mendelssohn & Co., one of Europe’s preeminent financial institutions for over a century. Mendelssohn was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of German-Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Unlike four of his five siblings, who converted to Christianity, Joseph remained faithful to Judaism his whole life. With aid from wealthy family connections he started […]