Carl Ray Pohlad (1915 - 2009)

Baseball Team Owner. He was a billionaire banker whose Minnesota Twins won two World Series titles during his nearly quarter-century as owner. Pohlad paid $38 million for the Twins in 1984. According to Forbes magazine’s 2006 rankings, Pohlad was the second-richest Minnesotan with a net worth of $2.8 billion. Still, his teams often had some […]

William Thomas Piper, Sr (1881 - 1970)

Aviation Pioneer. Often referred to as “the Henry Ford of Aviation”.  A 1903 graduate of Harvard University, he worked as a construction superintendent until 1914.  He served with the U.S. Army’s Corp of Engineers during WWI attaining the rank of Captain. He also worked the Pennsylvania Oil fields in the Bradford area after that time […]

Lydia Estes Pinkham (1819 - 1883)

Manufacturer of Home Remedy Medicine. Her motives were somewhat self-serving, but she is admired by many modern-day feminists for distributing information on women’s reproductive issues and is considered to be a crusader for women’s health issues in a time when women were ill-served by the medical profession. She was born Lydia Estes in Lynn, Massachusetts, […]

Paul L. Pink (1908 - 1996)

Businessman. He was the founder and proprietor of Pink’s Hot Dogs. He opened his business in 1939 with a cart on wheels on a corner lot. The business was later moved to a building that was erected on the spot. To this day they sell an estimated 1500 hot dogs a day and it is […]

Sergio Pininfarina (1926 - 2012)

Automobile Designer, Italian Senator. Pininfarina, whose very name is synonymous with exotic automobile design, was chairman of the company that his father founded in 1930. He obtained a degree in mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1950 and assumed control of the design studios upon his fathers death. The company climbed to […]

Charles Alfred Pillsbury (1842 - 1899)

Businessman. Founder and namesake of the Pillsbury Company. A New Hampshire native, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1863. In 1869 he moved to Minneapolis and established the C. A. Pillsbury Flour Company with the assistance of his uncle,  future Minnesota Governor John S. Pillsbury;  it eventually became one of the largest flour-milling enterprises in […]

Henry Clay Pierce (1970 - 1927)

Founder & President of Waters-Pierce Oil Company, Pierce was considered one of the four richest men in the country. Later the company became a subsidy of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. Pierce was found guilty of violating anti-trust laws through his relationship with Standard Oil & resulted in the state of Texas bringing its best-known suit […]

Frank Faucett Phillips (1873 - 1950)

Business Magnate. He and his brother L.E. Phillips founded Phillips Petroleum company in 1917. Today this company is one of the largest employers in the city of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. During the early 1920’s, Phillips Petroleum company began selling gasoline to the new airplane industry that was emerging in Wichita, Kansas. Wichita also became the location […]

Charles Pfizer (1824 - 1906)

Businessman. He co-Founded Pfizer Pharmaceuticals with his cousin Charles Erhart in 1849.  Family links:  Spouse:  Anna Hausch Pfizer (1840 – 1908)*  Children:  Ann Pfizer (____ – 1876)*  Gustavus Pfizer (1861 – 1944)*  Emile Pfizer (1866 – 1941)*  Alice Bachofen Pfizer Von Echt (1876 – 1959)* *Calculated relationship

Guido Pfister (1818 - 1889)

He established the famous Pfister hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He made a fortune in  tanning, and then turned his focus on building a hotel that would be at the heart of Milwaukee. His son Charles Pfister finished building the hotel which opened in 1893, and it is said that Guido haunts the halls,  making sure […]

Henry Petring (1826 - 1888)

Wholesale grocer in St. Louis for over 25 years with various partners before organizing the Henry Petring Grocery Company. He eventually began making a speciality of coffee & built up a mammoth trade in that commodity. He was also intrested in banking & was a director of several different banks in St. Louis. He became […]

Robert E. Petersen (1926 - 2007)

Entrepreneur. In 1948 he founded Hot Rod Magazine,  which was instrumental in the evolution of hot-rod auto culture. He went on to create the largest special interest publishing company in America. His consumer magazines included Motor Trend,  Car Craft,  Guns & Ammo,  Sport,     Motorcyclist,  Hunting,  Mountain Biker,  Photographic,  Teen,  and Sassy. When he […]

Louis Berhard Elias Peters (1855 - 1940)

Louis was co-founder of the Peter’s Dry Goods & Clothing Store in St. Louis. They bought another shoe company & eventually became the International Shoe Company. Louis was a member of the St. Louis & Warne building committee & the St. Peter’s Cemetery Board of Managers. (bio by: Connie Nisinger)  Family links:  Spouse:  Lizzie Blanke […]

Francis H. “Frank” Peters (1970 - 1970)

Francis was co-founder of the Peter’s Dry Goods & Clothing Store in St. Louis. His son was employed by Chaflin Allen Shoe Company, which was in financial trouble. Francis & a partner by the name of Miller bought the shoe company & renames it Peter’s Shoe Company. The company was expanded many times & eventually […]

William Hayes Perry (1970 - 1906)

William H. Perry was a Los Angeles lumber baron and the first president of the Department of Water and Power.  He was close frineds with William Mulholland.  His former home, a Greek Revival, is on display at Heritage Square Museum in Highland Park. (bio by: Joe Walker)

Marsden J. Perry (1850 - 1935)

Prominent Industrialist, and Banker; Notable Art Collector and Philanthropist.  Direct descendant of Anthony Perry (d. 1683), one of the original settlers of Rehoboth, Mass.  Son of Horatio Perry (1814-1853), and Malvina Wilson Perry (b. 1829).  Born in Rehoboth, he attended district schools.  When twelve years old he enlisted in a Massachusetts Company and served throughout […]

Jean-Frederic de Perregaux (1744 - 1808)

Banker, helped finance Bonaparte, gained (amongst other advantages) the monopoly of issuing bank-notes in 1803. (bio by: David Conway)

Mario Paul Perillo (1926 - 2003)

Businessman. He was the owner of Perillo Tours, on of the largest tour companies in the United States. He specilaixed in tours of Italy and became know as Mr Italy. He was also known for his humorous television commercials (bio by: Erik Lander)

Franklin Parsons “Frank” Perdue (1920 - 2005)

Businessman. He transformed a backyard egg business into one of the nation’s largest poultry processors using the folksy commercial slogan, “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.” His TV commercial persona helped boost sales from $56 million in 1970 to more than $1.2 billion by 1991 when he turned the reins over […]

Patricio Peralta Ramos (1814 - 1887)

Businessman. He was the founder of the city of Mar del Plata, one of the most famous and popular tourist destinations in Argentina, which is well known in the world for its beaches. (bio by: 380W)

Spencer Penrose (1865 - 1939)

Philanthropist, builder of the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in west Colorado Springs. Visionary developer of the Pike’s Peak Region in El Paso and Teller Counties, Colorado. A Harvard graduate and native of Philadelphia, Penrose arrived in Colorado in 1892 to join his fellow Philly native and business partner Charles L. Tutt. Penrose made his vast […]

James Cash Penney, Jr (1875 - 1971)

Businessman and entrepreneur; the founder of the JC Penney Company.  Born in Hamilton, Missouri, his father was an impoverished farmer and part-time Baptist preacher.  He was raised to be a devout Christian, a man whose foundation was the Golden Rule, to be self-reliant, self-disciplined, and with a strong concept of personal honor.  James attended the […]

Sir John Pender (1816 - 1896)

British Pioneer of submarine communications cables, and Founder of Cable and Wireless. He began his career as a textile merchant and owned a warehouse in Manchester. In 1865 he became the joint founder of the Anglo-American Company, which was formed with the intention of laying the first successful transatlantic submarine cable. He secured the future […]

Sir Henry Mill Pellatt (1859 - 1939)

Canadian Financier and Soldier. He is perhaps best known for his role in bringing hydro-electricity to Toronto, Ontario for the first time, and also for his famous château, called Casa Loma, in Toronto, which was the largest private residence ever constructed in Canada. Casa Loma would eventually become a famous landmark of the city. His […]

William Peet (1847 - 1934)

Co-Founder of the Peet Brothers soap manufacturing company, which later became the Colgate-Palmolive Company. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouses:  Nettie Jeanette Zoeter Peet (1851 – 1927)*  Lottie M. Paddleford Peet (1862 – 1944)*  Children:  Albert William Peet (1871 – 1952)* *Calculated relationship

Edwin W. Pauley (1903 - 1981)

Oilman and philanthropist. He was also a power broker in the Democratic party.  He advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt to pick Harry Truman as his vice-presidential running-mate in 1944. Namesake of UCLA’s ‘Pauley Pavilion’ sports facility. Owned Moku O Lo’e, also known as Coconut Island, located in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu, Hawaii. Here, the Pauley […]

Ralph M. Parsons (1896 - 1974)

Founder (1944) of the engineering and construction company that bears his name. In 2000 the company had over 11,000 employees and operated in 50 states and 80 countries. A major US philanthropist, he created the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. The company logo is on his marker in the lower left corner.

Alan Owston (1853 - 1915)

Businessman, Naturalist, Yachtsman. In 1871, he left England to go to Asia, to work as a merchant in Japan and a marine naturalist. There, he collected over 1,300 of Asian fish specimens from Japan and China. In addition, he also collected reptiles, birds, clams, frogs and giant sea sponges. His collections can be found in […]

Joseph Doty Oliver (1850 - 1933)

Businessman. Assumed the controls of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works and continued in charge until his death in 1933. He built the mansion Copshaholm and lived there from 1897 till his death. His remains lie in the family Mausoleum. (bio by: Tom Kepshire)

Kihachiro Okura (1837 - 1928)

Business Magnate. In 1873, he established the “Okura-gumi Shokai,” which later became the Okura business conglomerate, specializing in coal and iron mining in Korea and, later, mining in China and the construction of public works. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)