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)

Hiroshi Okawa (1896 - 1971)

Business magnate. Also served as president of Toei Motion Picture company. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)

Thomas Arthur O’Donnell (1870 - 1945)

Industrialist, Philantropist. He became known as one of the “big four” in the California oil industry, along with Edward L. Doheny, Charles A. Canfield and Max H. Whittier. Starting out as a newsboy in his native McKean, Pennsylvania, O’Donnell went to Colorado at age 12 and for seven years worked as a grocery store clerk […]

Charles Yelverton O’Connor (1843 - 1902)

New Zealand and Australian Engineer.  This famous engineer was born in Gravelmount, County Meath, Ireland in 1843. Just before the potato famine hit Ireland, his family moved to Waterford, England, where he completed his studies and became a professional engineer.  The poor economic conditions in Ireland forced the family to move to New Zealand in […]

William Shoney O’Brien (1970 - 1878)

Businessman, Silver Tycoon. Born in Ireland and coming to the United States in 1845, O’Brien went to California following the Gold Rush in 1849. Finding little success at mining, he settled in San Francisco where he joined with James Flood to open the Auction Lunch Saloon in 1854, which they operated until 1866. With many […]

Byron Nugent (1842 - 1908)

Nugent founded a small company, B. Nugent & Bro. Dry Goods Company, & turned it into one of the largest operations in the midwest. (bio by: Connie Nisinger)  Family links:  Spouse:  Julia Lake Nugent (1852 – 1928)*  Children:  Edwin Nugent (1876 – 1934)*  Byron Nugent (1881 – 1906)*  Julian Lake Nugent (1893 – 1958)* *Calculated […]

Pierrepont Burt Noyes (1870 - 1959)

Business Executive. The son of Oneida Community founder John Humphrey Noyes, he studied at Colgate and Harvard Universities and joined Oneida Limited, the corporation formed from the Oneida Community commune after the death of John Humphrey Noyes. Pierrepont Noyes became the company’s President and focused its effort on producing one product, and under his leadership […]

Merle Norman (1887 - 1972)

Cosmetics Magnate, Philantropist. Norman, who established her business out of her home in the late 1920s, was a contemporary of cosmetics legends Helena Rubenstein and Max Factor. She encouraged women to found their own franchise businesses where customers could enjoy free makeovers, an idea which she pioneered, and try products liberally before buying them. In […]

John W. Nordstrom (1871 - 1963)

Bussinessman. Born in Alvik Neder Lulea, Sweden, he was a entrepreneur most noted for being the founder of Nordstrom’s department stores. In 1887, he arrived in America, worked as a wagon loader, brick worker, lumberjack and potato farmer, then made a small fortune in the Alaska Gold Rush. Settling in Seattle in 1901, he opened […]

William Nolker (1840 - 1970)

Born in Germany, Nolker was treasurer of the St. Louis Brewing Association. He began his business career in the hotel & restaurant business, then became a messenger for the banking house of Fallis, Young & Company. He later was the general manager of the Vulcan Manufacturing Company & then later became the head of that […]

Louis Theodore Nolker (1877 - 1914)

Nolker, the son of brewer William Nolker, was the president of the Commercial Electrial Supply Company, president of the St. Louis Credit Agency Company, vice-president of the Guarantee Electrical Company. An avid horseback rider, he was noted for his many club memberships including the Missouri Athletic Club, Glen Echo Country Club, Valley Park Canoe Club, […]

Frederick Booker Noe, II (1929 - 2004)

Business Magnate, Folk Figure. Master Distiller Emeritus, grandson of Jim Beam. Known to his friends as “Booker,” he was the sixth generation of his family to head the distillery that was founded in 1795. His picture (along with his five other antecedants) is on the label of Jim Beam bourbon. In 1988, he released “Booker’s […]

Lewis Nixon (1861 - 1940)

Naval Architect, Shipbuilding Executive, Businessman, and Political Activist. He is remembered for designing the US Navy’s first modern battleships, and supervising the construction of its first modern submarines. Born in Leesburg, Virginia he received an appointment to attend the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and graduated first in his class in 1882. He was […]

Thomas Key Niedringhaus (1860 - 1970)

Vice-president & manager of the St. Louis Stamping Company until it merged with the National Enameling & Stamping Company. He was the vice-president & director of this firm as well as vice-president of the Commonwealth Steel Company & secretary of the Granite Realty & Investment Company. He was nominated for U.S. Senator in 1905, but […]

Henry Nicolaus (1850 - 1938)

Henry was the son-in-law of brewer Louis Schlossstein of the Old Uhrig Brewery. After an apprenticeship in Bavaria, at the age of 18, Henry came to St. Louis in 1867 & worked at the Becker & Hoppe malt house, St. Louis’ largest. He later worked at the National Brewery & Anheuser-Busch before returning to Europe […]

William Nickerson, Jr (1879 - 1945)

Businessman, Founder. Nickerson was a pioneer and entrepreneur of Black business in Los Angeles. He was the founder and first president of Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, which was the first African American life insurance company on the west coast and the largest African American life insurance company in the state of California. He […]

Nezu Kaichiro (1860 - 1940)

Business and politician. Nezu founded the Teikoku Oil Company. Born into an established merchant family in Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture, he moved to Tokyo in 1897, and became independently wealthy through stock investments. Nezu was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet in 1904 and won three subsequent reelections. He […]

Samuel I. Newhouse (1895 - 1979)

Businessman, Publisher. Born Solomon Isadore Neuhaus in Manhattan, New York, he was a broadcasting businessman, magazine and newspaper publisher. He was best known as the founder of Advance Publications, which went on to be one of the world’s largest media and communications companies. His interest included owning more then 30 newspapers, as well as numerous […]

Henry Mayo Newhall (1825 - 1882)

Western Pioneer. He was businessman whose extensive land holdings became the California communities of Newhall, Saugus, Santa Clarita and Valencia. In 1850, he came to California to search for gold but when he arrived many of the good mining sites had already been claimed. Settling in San Francisco, he opened the H.M. Newhall & Company, […]

John R. Newberry (1970 - 1933)

Businessman. A pioneer Los Angeles grocer, he founded J.R. Newberry and Company in 1898, one of the first chain grocery stores in Los Angeles. He built Newberry’s into a chain of 60 markets. (bio by: Scott G)  Family links:  Spouse:  Clara Ramsey Newberry (1851 – 1933)* *Calculated relationship

Walter Neurath (1970 - 1970)

Founder of Thames and Hudson publishers in 1949.

J.B. Nethercutt (1913 - 2004)

Cosmetics Manufacturer and Car Collector. He co-founded Merle Norman Cosmetics, producing cosmetics for sale in 1931. Respected in the beauty industry as an expert on cosmetic chemistry, he created a number of his firm’s most popular products, including blush rouge, perfume and lipsticks. He is perhaps better known for using his wealth to assemble one […]

Henri Nestlé-Ehmant (1814 - 1890)

Business Magnate. Founder of Nestlé S.A., the world’s biggest food and beverage company, as well as one of the main creators of milk chocolate. He had sold his company by the end of 1874 and moved with his wife into Villa Nestlé, where they helped people with small loans and publicly contributed towards improving the […]