Frederick Schaefer (1817 - 1897)

Beer Magnate. He emigrated to the United States in 1838, settled in New York City, and was employed by a local beer maker. In 1839 his brother Maximilian also emigrated, carrying with him the recipe for lager, a popular brew in Germany that was then unknown in America. In 1842 the Schaefers bought out their […]

Ezra Frederick Scattergood (1871 - 1947)

Chief electrical engineer on the storied construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. He was the top official of the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. With chief engineer William Mulholland’s recommendation, he was named to head the DWP’s quickly-expanding power bureau in 1907. By 1928, Scattergood had built what was then the […]

Kenneth I. Sawyer (1884 - 1944)

Few men have made such wide ranging contributions to highway betterment in Michigan, and throughout the world, as Kenneth I. Sawyer. Born on November 30, 1884 in Menominee, Michigan, he was graduated from high school in 1903 and from the University of Michigan with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering in 1907. He […]

David Sarnoff (1891 - 1971)

Founder of the National Broadcast Company (NBC). He was a Brig. General in the US Army in WWII. He was first to recieve the wireless message from the Titanic.  Family links:  Spouse:  Lizette Hermant Sarnoff (1894 – 1974)*  Children:  Robert William Sarnoff (1918 – 1997)* *Calculated relationship

Jay Jackson Sarno (1921 - 1984)

Casino Builder, Mogul, High Roller. He was the builder of Caesars Palace and the Circus Circus casinos on the famed Las Vegas Strip. Considered by many as the city’s first visionary of modern day Las Vegas, he created what would become the template for the rise and dominance of the mega themed hotel resorts and […]

Vincent Sardi, Sr (1885 - 1969)

Businessman. He founded “Sardi’s Restaurant” in Manhattan, New York City, New York, which became famous as a popular destination for celebrities.

Edward Sewall Sanford (1817 - 1882)

Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General, Businessman. The President of the American Telegraph Company at the start of the Civil War, his expertise in telegraph communications was called upon by the Union to help defeat the rebellion. Commissioned Colonel, US Volunteers, he served as Military Supervisor of Telegraphic Messages for the Union Army. He was […]

Harland Sanders (1890 - 1980)

Business Magnate, Folk Figure. Born in Indiana, over the course of his lifetime he came to exemplify to many the true American entrepreneurial spirit.  Sanders’ father died when Harland was only 6 years old and he had to help his mother care for his younger brother and sister.  This meant doing much of the family […]

Oberdan Sallustro (1915 - 1972)

Businessman. President of FIAT car makers in Argentina, was abducted by leftist guerrilla on March 21, 1972. He was killed during a rescue operation. He was kidnapped and killed in 1972 by the Ejection Revolutionaries del Pueblo (ERP) guerrilla group, according to newspaper reports. Oberdan Sallustro had been kidnapped on March 21, 1972, by a […]

Robb Hansell Sagendorph (1900 - 1970)

Publisher. In 1935 he founded and became publisher, president and director of the magazine “Yankee” until the magazine folded in 1970. In 1939 he bought the rights to the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” from Little Brown and Company and returned it to its original look from 1792.  Family links:  Spouse:  Beatrix Thorn Sagendorph (1900 – 1985)* […]

Russell Sage (1815 - 1906)

Financier. Began in grocery business in Troy, New York. He held a large portion of ownership in railroads and Western Union. U.S. Representative from New York, 1853-1857.  Family links:  Parents:  Elisha Sage (1779 – 1854)  Prudence Risley Sage (1778 – 1865)  Spouses:  Maria Winne Sage (1819 – 1867)  Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage (1828 – 1918) […]

Morris B. Sachs (1896 - 1957)

Entrepreneur. Born in Lithuania and immigrated to Chicago in 1910 at the age of 13 after his parents had died. His first job was as a peddler going door to door; soon he had earned enough to buy a horse and wagon, and established a ‘mobile store’. He opened his first store in 1919. He […]

John Ryle (1817 - 1887)

Businessman. He is considered the “Father of the Silk Industry” in Paterson, New Jersey, which in 1870 produced close to half of all the silk made in the United States. He was born in Bollington, England, which was an area that manufactured silk. As a young man he worked in different aspects of the industry, […]

Ralph Bennett Ryder (1970 - 2001)

Founding member of Ryder Trucking Company which grew into one of the world’s largest truck-leasing companies. In 1933, Ryder’s younger brother James started the Miami-based business by buying a Ford Model A truck for $35.00. Ralph Ryder bought the second truck, and the brothers hauled meat to ports on the beach and debris and cement […]

Thomas Alexander Russell (1877 - 1940)

Automobile manufacturer. Inventor of one of the few truly Canadian cars. In 1905, as general manager of the Canadian Cycle and Motor Company (CCM), Russell introduced a model A, with a flat, two-cylinder gasoline engine. It had such advanced features as shaft drive, a sliding-gear transmission, and a column-mounted shift lever. Russell marketed the vehicle […]

Margaret Fogarty Rudkin (1897 - 1967)

Businesswoman. Born Margaret Fogarty in Manhattan, New York, she was an enterprising lady noted as one of the great business leaders of her time. She graduated valedictorian of her high school class and then spent nine years working in New York before marrying Wall Street Broker Henry Rudkin in 1923. In 1929, the same year […]

Helena Rubinstein Courielli (1870 - 1965)

Entrepreneur. Born Chaja Rubinstein in Krakow, Poland, she was the founder of the Helena Rubinstein Cosmetic Company, which made her the first self-made female millionaire. She emigrated from Poland to Australia, in 1902 and soon began to make her jars of beauty cream that sold to enthusiastic buyers. She eventually moved to Paris, where she […]

Steve Rubell (1943 - 1989)

Businessman. He is best known as being the owner of the world famous 1970s New York ‘super’ club, Studio 54. Born in New York, Rubell worked in the restaurant and office business before deciding to open the ultimate nightclub. In 1977 with his partner, Ian Schrager, they rented a vacant theater and opened Studio 54 […]

Charles Broadway Rouss (1836 - 1902)

Businessman, Philanthropist. Although born in Woodsboro, Maryland, he lived in Winchester, Virginia between the ages of ten and twenty-four. He started his merchant career in Winchester as a store clerk and later owned his own business. He moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1862 where he opposed secession. Apparently having a change of heart, he joined […]

James Wilson Rouse (1914 - 1996)

Developer James W. Rouse  was the founder of Columbia, Maryland, one of the best known and most successful new towns built in the U.S. after World War II. Columbia now has more than 83,000 residents and 2,500 businesses and industries. After retiring from the Rouse Company in 1981, Rouse devoted his time to the Enterprise […]

Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1840 - 1915)

Financier, British Statesman. He became the head of the London branch of the Rothschild banking family, being the great-grandson of family dynasty founder Mayer Amschel Rothschild. He inherited the family baronetcy from his uncle, and became the first Jewish member of Great Britain’s House of Lords.  Family links:  Parents:  Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1808 – […]

Leopold de Rothschild (1845 - 1917)

British Banker. The 3rd son and youngest child of British banker and politician Lionel de Rothschild, he came from a prestigious and wealthy Jewish family whose banking roots went back to Germany in the 1760s. He received his education at King’s College School in London, England and Trinity College in Cambridge, England. He then entered […]

James de Rothschild (1878 - 1957)

British Politician and Philanthropist.  The son of Edmond James de Rothschild of the French branch of the wealthy and prominent Jewish Rothschild family, he received his education Lycee Louis-le-Grand in Paris, France and at Trinity College, Cambridge, England.  When World War I broke out in July 1914, he served in the enlisted ranks of the […]

Jules Roth (1900 - 1998)

General Manager and President Emeritus of Hollywood Memorial Cemetery, now Hollywood Forever. He drove the cemetery into bankruptcy.  Family links:  Parents:  Jules Frederick Roth (1862 – 1923)  Ella Kent Hine Roth (1868 – 1917)

Steven J. Ross (1927 - 1992)

Businessman. He was the CEO of Time Warner Incorporated, Warner Communications, and Kinney National Services, Incorporated. Born Steven Jay Rechnitz in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Jewish immigrants. His father lost all his money during the Great Depression of the 1930s and changed the family name to Ross in hope of finding […]

Julius Rosenwald (1862 - 1932)

Chicago area merchant. He was an early partner with Sears. He helped found the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.  Family links:  Parents:  Augusta Hammerslough Rosenwald (1833 – 1921)  Spouse:  Augusta N Nusbaum Rosenwald (1868 – 1929)  Children:  Edith Rosenwald Stern (1895 – 1980)*  Sibling:  Louis S. Rosenwald (____ – 1935)*  Julius Rosenwald (1862 […]

William Rosenberg (1916 - 2002)

William Rosenberg was the food franchising pioneer who founded the Dunkin’ Donuts chain and saw it spread from coast to coast and into 37 countries.  Family links:  Parents:  Nathan Edward Rosenberg (____ – 1955)  Phoebe Swart Rosenberg (1891 – 1992)  Spouse:  Bertha Greenberg Rosenberg (1914 – 2008)* *Calculated relationship

Benjamin Rose (1828 - 1908)

Industrialist and philantropist. He formed the Cleveland Provision Company, Cleveland’s largest meat packer. He pioneered meat shipping using refrigerated cars.

Emanuele Ronzoni, Sr (1870 - 1956)

Entrepreneur. Tens of millions of North Americans grew up with his name, as part of his company’s iconic trademark, “Ronzoni Sono Buoni…Ronzoni is so good.”  But it all began in 1881 when Emanule Ronzoni immigrated to the United States with his parents from Italy.  After spending his teen years working at a macaroni factory on […]

George Wilcken Romney (1907 - 1995)

Michigan Governor, Presidential Cabinet Secretary. He served as Governor of Michigan from 1962 to 1968, and served as United States Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1968 to 1972. Father of politician Mitt Romney.  Family links:  Parents:  Samuel Gaskell Romney (1871 – 1955)  Anna Amelia Pratt Romney (1876 – 1926)  Spouse: […]