Maria Clementine Martin (1775 - 1843)

She was a nun, and after secularization she became a nurse and later a businesswoman. She invented the herbal drink “Melissengeist,” and in 1826 founded the company “Klosterfrau Melissengeist” which continues to be a large and successful business in Germany today.

Simon Marks (1888 - 1964)

Business Magnate. Son of the co-founder of one of Britains leading department stores Marks & Spencer, which has shops the world over. It was Simon Marks, who in the 1920s introduced the famous “St. Michael” brand which is famously sold in Marks & Spencer stores. (bio by: Kieran Smith)  Family links:  Parents:  Michael Marks (1859 […]

(1901 - 1996)

Inventor, Philanthropist. He perfected the design of the single-handed faucet in 1954.  Family links:  Parents:  Tacvor Manoogian (1877 – 1949)  Tacouhi Manoogian (1884 – 1975)  Spouse:  Marie Tatian Manoogian (1903 – 1993)

Robert Lund (1925 - 1995)

Businessman. He started the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan, which is the largest magic museum in the world, containing some half-million pieces of memorabilia, as well as an archive of thousands of little-known conjurors. Items on display at the museum include the “Milk Can” escape equipment of Houdini. (bio by: Graveaddiction)

Henry Robinson Luce, II (1898 - 1967)

Magazine Magnate. Publisher of Sports Illustrated, Life and Time Magazine.  Family links:  Parents:  Henry Winters Luce (1868 – 1941)  Spouse:  Clare Boothe Luce (1903 – 1987)*  Children:  Henry R Luce (1925 – 2005)* *Calculated relationship

Cyril Lord (1911 - 1984)

Powerful British textile magnate of the 20th Century. (bio by: Kieran Smith)

Henry Lomb (1828 - 1908)

Businessman. Co-Founder of Bausch And Lomb, Incorperated.  Family links:  Spouse:  Emilie Klein Lomb (1844 – 1940)* *Calculated relationship

Hart Almerrin Massey (1823 - 1896)

Industrialist,  Philanthropist. A native of what is now Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario,  Canada,  he built the firm that became Massey-Harris, the farm equipment giant that is now Varity. His estate became the basis of the Massey Foundation, a philanthropic enterprise with multiple cultural and charitable interests. He was the grandfather of Governor General Vincent Massey and actor […]

(1896 - 1982)

Toy Magnate. At the age of sixteen and the oldest of three, Marx had to help support the family. On a friend’s recommendation, he was hired to work full-time at the Ferdinand J. Strauss Company, a toy manufacturer that produced items for Abraham & Strauss Department Stores and a pioneer in the tin toy industry. […]

(1796 - 1873)

Businessman. A guitar maker, he founded the C.F. Martin and Company. He was born into a family of cabinet makers, but during the 1820’s he moved to Vienna and learned the guitar making trade from famed guitar maker Johann Stauffer. In 1833 he left Germany and opened his own luthier shop in New York City, […]

William E. Maritz (1928 - 2001)

Chairman of the Maritz Inc. company, which is headquartered in Fenton, Missouri. Established in 1894 by his grandfather, the company was originally known as E. Maritz Jewelry Manufacturing Company. When William joined the company in 1953, it was known as Maritz Sales Builders. The family-owned company is one of the nation’s largest employee motivation companies […]

Herbert Marcus (1878 - 1950)

Businessman. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was educated at the Louisville public schools and left during high school due to financial reasons. At the age of 15, he moved to Hillsboro, Texas, where he found work as a janitor in a general store. In 1899 he moved to Dallas, to sell life insurance, and later […]

(1814 - 1900)

One of the three operators of the firm Russell, Majors & Waddell, that founded and operated the Pony Express. (bio by: Bill Walker)  Family links:  Spouses:  Katherine Stalcup Majors (1820 – 1856)*  Susan Dudley Wetzel Majors (1837 – 1915)*  Children:  James Majors (1837 – 1837)*  Missouri Amanda Majors Simpson (1840 – ____)*  Benjamin Captain Majors […]

John M. “Jack” Mack (1864 - 1924)

Businessman. He was the founder of Mack Trucks, which is now North America’s largest producers of heavy-duty trucks. Their line of medium-duty trucks are now sold in more than 65 countries worldwide.  Family links:  Spouse:  Mary S. Mack (1874 – 1955)

Henry Robinson Luce, II (1898 - 1967)

Magazine Magnate. Publisher of Sports Illustrated, Life and Time Magazine.  Family links:  Parents:  Henry Winters Luce (1868 – 1941)  Spouse:  Clare Boothe Luce (1903 – 1987)*  Children:  Henry R Luce (1925 – 2005)* *Calculated relationship

Cyril Lord (1911 - 1984)

Powerful British textile magnate of the 20th Century. (bio by: Kieran Smith)

Henry Lomb (1828 - 1908)

Businessman. Co-Founder of Bausch And Lomb, Incorperated.  Family links:  Spouse:  Emilie Klein Lomb (1844 – 1940)* *Calculated relationship

Marcus Loew (1870 - 1927)

Pioneer Motion Picture Executive.  As founder of the Loew’s theatre chain and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios,  he played a major role in the emergence of Hollywood as the world’s movie capital.  Born Max Loew in New York City,  the son of Austrian-Jewish immigrants,  he grew up in poverty and dropped out of school at age nine to […]

James William Lochridge (1842 - 1909)

Rancher, Businessman. He discovered the first oil field in North Texas while drilling for water on his land three miles southeast of the site of present day Petrolia, Texas. Not being thrilled with the discovery he used the oil for dipping cattle to rid them of parasites, and on April 10, 1903 he formed the […]

Hart Almerrin Massey (1823 - 1896)

Industrialist,  Philanthropist. A native of what is now Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario,  Canada,  he built the firm that became Massey-Harris, the farm equipment giant that is now Varity. His estate became the basis of the Massey Foundation, a philanthropic enterprise with multiple cultural and charitable interests. He was the grandfather of Governor General Vincent Massey and actor […]

Alfieri Maserati (1887 - 1932)

Italian Entrepreneur. A racing driver and designer of racing cars, founder of Maserati Automobile Company. In 1930, a racing car of his own design, won the Grand Prix of Tripoli. (bio by: Lucy Caldarelli)

Louis Marx (1896 - 1982)

Toy Magnate. At the age of sixteen and the oldest of three, Marx had to help support the family. On a friend’s recommendation, he was hired to work full-time at the Ferdinand J. Strauss Company, a toy manufacturer that produced items for Abraham & Strauss Department Stores and a pioneer in the tin toy industry. […]

Maria Clementine Martin (1775 - 1843)

She was a nun, and after secularization she became a nurse and later a businesswoman. She invented the herbal drink “Melissengeist,” and in 1826 founded the company “Klosterfrau Melissengeist” which continues to be a large and successful business in Germany today.

Christian Frederic Martin (1796 - 1873)

Businessman. A guitar maker, he founded the C.F. Martin and Company. He was born into a family of cabinet makers, but during the 1820’s he moved to Vienna and learned the guitar making trade from famed guitar maker Johann Stauffer. In 1833 he left Germany and opened his own luthier shop in New York City, […]

Laurence Marshall (1889 - 1980)

Electronics Entrepreneur. In 1922 he founded the Raytheon Corporation and was president of the company for 38 years, until his retirement in 1950. His company developed the radar, the microwave and the Hawk missile. A noted anthropologist as well, he and his family organized an expedition and studied the Bushman of the Kalahari Desert in […]

Jim Marshall (1923 - 2012)

Businessman. In early childhood he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, this forced him to spend countless hours and years in the hospital. Due to his diagnoses he was unfit to serve during WWII. At this time he became a drummer and singer, due to the shortage of available musicians. He worked as an electrical engineer during […]

J. Howard Marshall (1905 - 1995)

Buisness Tycoon. Born James Howard Marshall, he is best remembered for his 1994 marriage to Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith.  He was 89 and wheelchair-bound,  she was 26. At the time of his death he left no provision for Smith in his will,  and his estate became the center of a nasty,  highly-publicized legal battle […]

E. Pierce Marshall (1939 - 2006)

Businessman. Born Pierce Marshall, he informally added the E. later in memoriam to his grandfather Everett Pierce, is best remembered for his aggressive legal battle with his step-mother, Anna Nicole Smith, over the fortune of his oil tycoon father, J. Howard Marshall. After the senior Marshall’s death in 1995, Smith, his wife of 14 months, […]

Forrest Edward Mars, Sr (1904 - 1999)

Businessman. Inventor of M&M’s. The son of Mars candy company founder Franklin C. Mars, he left the family business after a dispute with his father and established his own company, Forrest Mars Food Manufacturers. He invented and patented a candy-coated chocolate in 1940 under a partnership with Bruce Murrie, son of a Hershey’s Chocolate executive, […]

J. Willard Marriott (1900 - 1985)

Founder of the Marriott Corporation.  Family links:  Parents:  Hyrum Willard Marriott (1863 – 1939)  Ellen Marie Morris Marriott (1868 – 1967)  Spouse:  Alice Sheets Marriott (1907 – 2000)*  Siblings:  J. Willard Marriott (1900 – 1985)  Paul Morris Marriott (1907 – 1998)*  Russell Stewart Marriott (1911 – 2001)*  Woodrow Duane Marriott (1914 – 2005)* *Calculated relationship