Theodore S. Faxton (1784 - 1881)

Businessman. He was a pioneer entrepreneur of stagecoach and telegraph lines. Born in Conway, Massachusetts, it was in the Utica, New York area in 1812 where he obtained a position as a stage driver quickly gaining respect for his teamster abilities along the old Mohawk Turnpike. Theodore soon became one of the proprietors of the […]

Robert “Bob” Farrell (1927 - 2015)

American Author, Motivational Speaker and Founder of Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlors. After serving in the Air Force during World War II, Farrell worked as a salesman for Libby Foods, where he began breaking sales records with his creative marketing and received a series of job promotions to become regional sales manager. He left the company […]

William Stamps Farish, II (1881 - 1942)

Businessman. Son of William and Katherine Maude Farish and husband of Libbie Randon Rice, he practiced law for three months at Clarksdale, Mississippi before moving to Beaumont, Texas during the Spindletop oilfield boom. One of several oilmen who founded the Humble Oil and Refining Company in 1917 (the others being Ross Sterling, R.L. Blaffer and […]

Peter Faneuil (1700 - 1743)

Colonial Merchant. He was the son and nephew of wealthy French Huguenots who fled France in the late 1600s and settled in Massachusetts. Little is known of his childhood and his well-to-do father died when he was 18 years old. He first came into prominence when he helped his brother-in-law escape to France after killing […]

Sherman Mills Fairchild (1896 - 1971)

Industrialist and inventor. Among Fairchild’s inventionas are aerial mapping photography, the flight analyzer camera and an automatic photoengraver. Fairchild also designed the first plane to have a closed a cockpit and a plane that could be loaded by rear-facing doors. Fairchild was born into wealth, his father was an IBM founder who built a $200 […]

Thaddeus Fairbanks (1796 - 1886)

Inventor,  Businessman. In 1823 he built a foundry in St. Johnsbury to manufacture two of his inventions, a plow and a stove made from cast iron. In 1824 his brother Erastus joined the business, which they named E & T Fairbanks Company, an enterprise that later included their brother Joseph as a partner. In 1830 […]

Sidney B. Factor (1916 - 2005)

Businessman. Son of Max Factor Sr., he helped build the cosmetics firm his father founded into the internationally market known as Max Factor & Company. Through the 1950s, he expanded the company into Canada, Australia, Japan, Latin America and South America. He retired in 1962 as executive vice president in charge of international markets, with […]

Max Factor (1877 - 1938)

Businessman. Legendary makeup magnate.  Family links:  Spouses:  Esther Rosa Factor (1874 – 1906)*  Jennie Cook Factor (1886 – 1949)*  Children:  John Jacob Factor (1892 – 1984)*  Francis Factor (1904 – 1996)*  Sidney B. Factor (1916 – 2005)* *Calculated relationship

Francis Factor (1904 - 1996)

Businessman. Son of Hollywood Make-up pioneer Max Factor, Sr. He took over the business when his father died in 1938.  Family links:  Parents:  Max Factor (1877 – 1938)  Esther Rosa Factor (1874 – 1906)  Siblings:  John Jacob Factor (1892 – 1984)**  Francis Factor (1904 – 1996)  Sidney B. Factor (1916 – 2005)** *Calculated relationship**Half-sibling

Carl Peter Fabergé (1846 - 1920)

Jeweler. He and his company were responsible for the world renown jewel-encrusted “Faberge Eggs”, which became synonymous with the extravagance of Imperial Russia. His father was a descendant of French Protestants who fled after the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685 and settled in Russia and his mother was Danish. He was education in […]

Eberhard Faber (1822 - 1879)

Businessman. Born into a family who had been in the pencil-making business since 1761, he moved to New York City in 1848 and opened his first pencil factory on 42nd Street near the East River, which was destroyed in a fire in 1872, then he built a bigger factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Faber was the […]

Dan W. Evins (1935 - 2012)

Businessman. Founder of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant chain. The Tennessee native while working in his family’s petroleum business envisioned the possibilities of an easier way to meet the needs of people who traveled by roadways. He drew from his memories while a youth, when it was commonplace to patronize a country […]

David Cannon Evans (1924 - 1998)

Computer Engineer. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he is known as a the pioneer of computer imagery. He graduated from the University of Utah with a doctorate degree in physics and worked at the Bendix Aviation Electronics Company. As project manager, he developed a personal computer in 1955, which ran on an interpretive operating […]

Bob Evans (1918 - 2007)

Restaurateur. Born Robert Evans in Sugar Ridge, Ohio,  he moved to Gallipolis, Ohio in the early 1940’s and bought a restaurant named the Malt Shop. After being inducted into the army, he sold the Malt Shop to a friend. In 1945, after serving in World War II, he worked for a family owned packing company. […]

Ahmet Ertegün (1923 - 2006)

Music Impresario. He was a co-founder of Atlantic Records and through this record label he helped define American music by popularizing the earthy Rhythm & Blues of Ray Charles, the classic soul of Aretha Franklin and the British rock of the Rolling Stones. A Turkish ambassador’s son, he initially began collecting records as a hobby […]

Greene Erskine (1797 - 1888)

Erskine made a fortune in the import/export business.  Named after Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Green, (his mother’s second cousin), Green moved to New York City in 1831 & founded Knickerbocker magazine.  He later returned to St. Louis & was a successful grocer on Laclede’s Landing. (bio by: Connie Nisinger)

Albert Russel Erskine (1871 - 1933)

Industrialist. As president of the Studebaker Corporation from 1915 to 1933, he literally guided the Studebaker company from the “horse and buggy” days into the position of a major player in modern auto production. The 1927 Studebaker Erskine Roadster Model 50J with rumble seat was named for him. Only six are known to exist worldwide […]

Abraham Lincoln Erlanger (1860 - 1930)

Theatrical Producer.

Estrid Ericson (1894 - 1981)

Founder of world famous interior design company Svenskt Tenn. The company was founded in 1924 and reached international recognition for new, modern design. Initially the company produced art objects in pewter, but came to pioneer the interior design business. In the early 1930s she established a cooperation with famed Austrian architect and designer, Josef Frank, […]

Gunnar Engellau (1907 - 1988)

Businessman. Succeeded co-founder Assar Gabrielsson as Vice-President for Volvo in 1956. Under his leadership the company developed into a world-wide business, and he entered Volvo into the United States market.  (bio by: Peter Robsahm)

Primus Emerson (1970 - 1877)

Primus Emerson brought boat building to the Carondolet area of St. Louis in 1853. He and two St. Louis businessmen bought riverfront property near the mouth of the River des Peres. There they opened the Carondelet Marine Railway & Dock Company. The venture cost $150,000 & included Emerson’s own patented marine railway. The marine railway […]

Joseph Ellicott (1760 - 1826)

Surveyor, Land Agent. Founder of Batavia, New York and Buffalo, New York. Trained as a surveyor by his brother, United States Surveyor-General Andrew Ellicott, he was also the brother of Congressman Benjamin Ellicott. Joseph and Benjamin helped Andrew complete the survey of Washington D.C. In 1797, he was hired by a group of six Dutch […]

Sir John Reeves Ellerman (1862 - 1933)

Secretive millionaire, whose fortune was made from shipping and a wide variety of investments from brewing to newspapers. Believed to have been the richest man in England at his death. (bio by: David Conway) Cause of death: stroke

William Lukens Elkins (1832 - 1903)

Financier. He was a partner in the giant Standard Oil company. He sold his portion and heavily invested in  railways and natural gas, and his efforts helped build up the infrastructure in a number of major US cities. (bio by: Russ Dodge)  Family links:  Spouse:  Maria Louise Broomall Elkins (1832 – 1910)*  Children:  George W. […]

Henry Gassaway Davis (1823 - 1916)

US Congressman, Businessman. Although he would ultimately become a great capitalist he had a rather humble start in life. He was educated in public schools but became fatherless and went to work at a young age. Davis became a plantation superintendent. He then became employed with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a brakeman, conductor, […]

Arthur Vining Davis (1867 - 1962)

Industrialist, Philanthropist. Born in Sharon, Massachusetts, he graduated from Amherst College, in 1888 and moved to Pittsburgh, to take a job in the modern aluminum industry. He soon helped set up the Pittsburgh Reduction Company and became general manager of the firm in the 1890s. Knowing the importance of aluminum, he became president of the […]

William A. Davidson (1870 - 1937)

Businessman. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, along with his family, he was a co-founder of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Corporation. As a symbol of America’s inventiveness, rugged individualism and pioneering spirit, Harley-Davidson became one of the world’s largest and most widely recognized motorcycle manufacturers. To date, Harley-Davidson manufactures its motorcycles at factories in New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, […]

Arthur Davidson (1881 - 1950)

Businessman. He was one of the four original founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Served as Secretary-General Sales Manager. (bio by: Rick)  Family links:  Parents:  William C Davidson (1846 – 1923)  Margaret Davidson (1843 – 1933)  Spouse:  Clara B. Davidson (1883 – 1950)  Children:  Margaret Davidson Nelson (1911 – 2004)*  Arthur Harley Davidson (1914 – […]

William Dargan (1799 - 1867)

Irealnd’s first railway pinoeer. Worked under Telford in England and built the first Irish line, from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire, in 1831. Sponsored the Dublin Exhibition of 1853, following which the Irish National Gallery was built in his honour. Declined a knighthood from Queen Victoria. Business difficulties made him virtually bankrupt at the time he […]

Sir Edward Darcy (1970 - 1612)

Landowner.Knight of Dartford, Kent. Third son of Sir Arthur Darcy and Mary Carew. Grandson of Sir Thomas Darcy and Dowasbel Tempest. Edward attended Trinity College at Cambridge in 1561, then from Stamford, Yorkshire. He was admitted to the Inner Temple in November of 1561. Edward married Elizabeth Astley, the daughter of Thomas Astley of Writtle […]