Allen H. Lockheed (1889 - 1969)

Aviation Pioneer. In 1911 he began designing aircraft and in 1916 Lockheed was co-founder of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation with his brother Malcolm. In 1929 Lockheed developed the Lockheed Vega monoplane, built for the likes of Wiley Post and Amelia Earhart. That same year Lockheed retired from the company and gave full command to his […]

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 […]

Edward Lloyd (1970 - 1713)

Founder of Lloyd’s Coffee House and hence of the insurance industry (Lloyd’s of London, which grew from the transactions undertaken by brokers while drinking coffee there).  Family links:  Spouse:  Abigail Lloyd (____ – 1698)* *Calculated relationship

Celeste Lizio (1908 - 1988)

Businesswoman. Founder of Mrs. Lizio’s frozen pizza, later purchased by Quaker Oats and marketed, with her help, as Celeste frozen pizzas.

Robert R. Livingston (1746 - 1813)

Statesman, Inventor, Entrepreneur. He was born a member of one of the great land-owning colonial families of New York. Robert spend his early years here and entered King’s College (Columbia University) at the age of 15. Livingston served from 1775 to 1777 in the Continental Congress, where he was one of the five drafters of […]

Joseph Baron Lister (1827 - 1912)

Medical Pioneer, “Father of Antiseptics.” He graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine degree from London University, and went on to training at the Royal College of Physicians. As surgeon in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, he was concerned with the number of deaths from surgeries. Many operations resulted in inflammation and gangrene. Studying the germ theory of […]

Pat Summitt (1952 - 2016)

Pat Summitt (née Head, June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American college basketball head coach who achieved the most wins in NCAA basketball history of any coach, male or female. She served as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team from 1974 to 2012, winning eight NCAA […]

Scotty Moore (1931 - 2016)

Scotty Moore was born near Gadsden, Tennessee. He learned to play the guitar from family and friends at eight years of age. Although underage when he enlisted, Moore served in the United States Navy between 1948 and 1952. Moore’s early background was in jazz and country music. A fan of guitarist Chet Atkins, Moore led […]

John W. Kluge (1914 - 2010)

Entrepreneur. He was best known as a television industry mogul whom parlayed a small fortune into a multibillion-dollar communications empire. In the mid-1950s, he became the major stockholder of the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation and he was the company’s board chairman in control of television and radio broadcasting by 1958. From the 1960s to mid-1980s, his […]

Maria Anna Klausmann (1970 - 1898)

Maria’s brothers were beer brewing pioneers in St. Louis. Maria married Carl Klausmann & they opened a restaurant known as “Our House.” The business propsered & they established the Klausmann Brewery in 1857. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Klausmann took full charge of the business & developed a manufacturing interest which ultimately yielded […]

Carl Klausmann (1970 - 1859)

Born in Germany, Klausmann apprenticed to a painter & mastered his trade working as a journeyman sign painter before coming to the U.S. in 1839. Settling in Kentucky, he met Miss M.A. Uhrig, whose brothers later became famous beer brewing pioneers in St. Louis. The couple married & came to St. Louis & opened a […]

Ginko Kishida (1970 - 1970)

Publisher. Pioneer newspaper businessman. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)

Abbot Kinney (1850 - 1920)

Industrialist and Real Estate Baron. An important figure in Los Angeles history, Abbot Kinney founded the nearby city of Venice, California. Convinced that the area’s mild climate would attract artists from around the world, Kinney decided to provide the setting for this cultural renaissance by re-creating Venice,  Italy,  just south of Santa Monica.  In 1902 […]

John Ellis Kimberly (1970 - 1928)

Businessman. A Paper Magnate, he was one of the co-founders of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Kimberly-Clark is famous for such products as Kleenex, Kotex, Huggies, and Depends.  Family links:  Spouse:  Helen Cheney Kimberly (1845 – 1932)*  Children:  John A Kimberly (1867 – 1954)*  James Cheney Kimberly (1871 – 1961)*  Mary Emma Kimberly Shirk (1881 – 1979)* […]

William Smith Kimball (1837 - 1895)

Businessman. He was founder of the Kimball Tobacco Factory in Rochester, New York, which he built around a handful of small tobacco-related devices invented by one of his employees. Kimball became one of the world’s largest tobacco product companies; the cigarette division alone supplied the world with 750 million cigarettes each year. His family home, […]

William Wallace Kimball (1828 - 1904)

Businessman. William Wallace Kimball was the founder of the W.W. Kimball and Company that manufactured pianos and organs from the late 19th century until February 1996. He moved from Maine to Decorah, Iowa while in his mid-20s and became a real estate broker. He liquidated his investments just before the Panic of 1857 and moved […]

Byron Kilbourn (1801 - 1870)

Business Magnate, Milwaukee Founder and Mayor. The son of US Congressman James Kilbourne, he worked in Ohio as a surveyor and state engineer, and moved to Wisconsin in 1834. In 1837 he established Kilbourntown on 160 acres west of the Milwaukee River. There were already two new settlements in the region, Solomon Juneau’s Juneautown (east […]

Peter Kiewit (1900 - 1979)

Peter Kiewit took over the small Omaha, Nebraska construction company, Keiwit Construction Co., from his father (also Peter Kiewit) and grew it into one of the largest major construction companies in the world. His company built the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado, subways in New York City, and many major world-class projects throughout the world.

Kirk Kerkorian (1917 - 2015)

American Financier, Investor, Industrialist and Philantropist. Kirk Kerkorian was a high-school dropout and onetime welterweight boxer who rose from working as a civilian transport pilot in World War II, to building a financial empire that included investments in the casinos, hotels, as well as Chrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors. Kerkorian was a skilled […]

Joseph Patrick Kennedy (1888 - 1969)

Businessman, US Political Figure. Best known as Patriarch of the Kennedy Family and the father of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of a saloonkeeper, Joseph Patrick Kennedy was a hardworking, ambitious boy who got into Harvard, was popular and did well academically, but was […]

John F Kennedy Jr (1960 - 1999)

John F Kennedy Jr Environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kept secret diaries that were found by his wife, Mary, who committed suicide last year in the midst of a contentious divorce. The Post, which was provided copies of the journals by a source, previously reported how the volumes detailed RFK’s “lust demons” while chronicling his […]

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (1966 - 1999)

Socialite and wife of John F. Kennedy, Jr. She gained a certain notoriety herself due to public interest and attention to her husband. Born in White Plains, New York, she was the youngest daughter of Dr. William J. and Ann Messina Bessette.  Her father was a surgeon and her mother an administrator in the New […]

Mifflin Kenedy (1818 - 1895)

While in Pittsburgh awaiting repairs on The Champion, Miffin Kenedy met John Saunders, a United States Army major and engineer who was seeking craft for use on the Rio Grande River during the Mexican War. Hired to assist Saunders, Kenedy commanded The Corvette to New Orleans, Louisiana. His experience in navigation proved invaluable in the […]

James Scott Kemper (1886 - 1981)

Businessman. He established the Lumberman’s Mutual Casualty Company, which was the predecessor of the today’s Kemper Insurance Companies. He was politically active, serving as an Illinois delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1952, as the treasurer of the Republican National Committee from 1944 to 1946, and as the United […]

John Brendan “Jack” Kelly, Sr (1889 - 1960)

Businessman, Olympic Athlete. He accumulated wealth as a successful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania building contractor. He was also an athlete, winning an Olympic Gold Medal as part of the 1920 United States Sculling team. He was the father of the movie actress and later Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly.  Family links:  Spouse:  Margaret Katherine Majer Kelly (1898 […]

Will Keith Kellogg (1860 - 1951)

Business Entrepreneur.  Inventor of corn flakes, he founded the Kellogg Cereal Company and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Born in Battle Creek, Michigan, he was the younger son of John Preston Kellogg and Ann Janette Stanley Kellogg.  Just before he was born in 1860, the family moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, where his father, John […]

Ransom Leslie “Les” Kelley (1897 - 1990)

Born Ransom Leslie Kelley, he originated the “Kelley Blue Book,” the guide for setting resale values on used automobiles. First published in 1926, the Kelley Blue Book is still in use today. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Children:  Gloria Beatrice Kelley (1922 – 1990)* *Calculated relationship

Alexander Keith (1795 - 1873)

He was the founder of Alexander Keith’s Brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was born at Halkirk, Caithness Highland, Scotland and at the age of 17, his father sent him to an uncle in northern England to learn the brewery business. Around 1817 he relocated to Halifax where he became the sole brewer and […]

William M. Keck (1880 - 1964)

Philanthropist and founder of Superior Oil.  Family links:  Children:  Willametta Keck Day (1915 – 1985)*  Alice Bertha Keck Park (1918 – 1977)* *Calculated relationship

Martin Theodore Kearney (1842 - 1970)

Was one of Fresno’s most significant pioneer land developers. Known as the “Raisin King of California,” he was one of the most prosperous and powerful agricultural leaders in the state. Among his achievements are the establishment of the colony farm system in Fresno County; the development of his 5,400-acre Fruit Vale Estate that focused on […]