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Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century

 
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Filter Results: (116) Arrow Down Arrow Up
116 Results
Terrence E. Adderley
Kelly Services, 1967–Present
Robert O. Anderson
Atlantic Richfield Company, 1965–1982
Paul R. Andrews
Prentice-Hall, 1965–1970
Roy L. Ash
Litton Industries, 1961–1972
Mary Kay Ash
Mary Kay Cosmetics, 1963–1987
J. Paul Austin
Coca-Cola Company, 1966–1980
Frank Batten
Landmark Communications, 1967–1998
Edward J. Bednarz
Pinkerton's, 1967–1979
Eugene N. Beesley
Eli Lilly & Company, 1969–1973
Glen W. Bell
Taco Bell Corporation, 1962–1975
William Blackie
Caterpillar Tractor Company, 1963–1977
W. Michael Blumenthal
Bendix Corporation, 1967–1976
Fred J. Borch
General Electric Company, 1963–1972
John Y. Brown, Jr.
Kentucky Fried Chicken Company, 1964–1973
Warren E. Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway, 1969–Present
Howard L. Clark
American Express Company, 1960–1977
Willibald H. Conzen
Schering-Plough Corporation, 1966–1978
Bert S. Cross
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1963–1969
Alonzo G. Decker, Jr.
Black & Decker Corporation, 1964–1975
Jerry Della Femina
Della Femina and Travisano, 1967–1986
Fred DeLuca
Subway Sandwiches, 1965–Present
Bernard A. Edison
Edison Brothers Stores, 1968–1987
Louis K. Eilers
Eastman Kodak Company, 1967–1972
John C. Emery, Jr.
Emery Air Freight, 1968–1987
Donald G. Fisher
Gap, 1969–1995
Richard M. Furlaud
Squibb Corporation, 1968–1989
Henry W. Gadsden
Merck & Company, 1965–1975
Edward G. Gardner
Soft Sheen Products, 1964–1985
Katharine M. Graham
Washington Post, 1963–1979
Maurice R. Greenberg
American International Group, 1967–1989
Mervyn E. Griffin, Jr.
Griffin Productions, 1963–1985
Robert C. Guccione
Penthouse International Limited, 1965–2003
Ralph A. Hart
Heublein, 1965–1970
Bruce D. Henderson
Boston Consulting Group, 1968–1980
Stuart K. Hensley
Warner-Lambert Corporation, 1967–1972
Paul Henson
United Utilities/Sprint Corporation, 1966–1990
William R. Hewlett
Hewlett-Packard Company, 1969–1978
Wayne Hicklin
Avon Products, 1967–1972
E. G. Higdon
Maytag Corporation, 1962–1973
Philip B. Hofmann
Johnson & Johnson Company, 1963–1973
Amos Hostetter, Jr.
Continental Cablevision, 1963–1996
Amory Houghton, Jr.
Corning Glass Company, 1964–1982
Carl C. Icahn
Icahn & Company, 1968–Present
F. Kenneth Iverson
Nucor Corporation, 1965–1996
John K. Jamieson
Exxon Corporation, 1969–1975
Samuel C. Johnson II
Johnson Wax Company, 1966–1979
Mitchell P. Kartalia
Square D Company, 1968–1983
Howard B. Keck
Superior Oil Company, 1963–1981
Herbert D. Kelleher
Southwest Airlines Company, 1967–2001
Erwin Kelm
Cargill, 1961–1976
Donald M. Kendall
PepsiCo, 1963–1986
William F. Kerby
Dow Jones & Company, 1966–1975
Anne Klein
Anne Klein & Company, 1968–1974
William F. Laporte
American Home Products, 1965–1981
Ralph Lauren
Polo, Ralph Lauren, 1968–Present
Mary W. Lawrence
Wells, Rich and Greene, 1966–1990
Peter B. Lewis
The Progressive Corporation, 1965–2000
Edward T. Lewis
Essence Communications, 1969–Present
Edgar F. Luckenbach, Jr.
Luckenbach Steamship Company, 1960–1974
Ray W. MacDonald
Burroughs Corporation, 1967–1978
Forrest E. Mars, Sr.
Mars, 1964–1973
Jack C. Massey
Hospital Corporation of America, 1968–1978
Mark H. McCormack
International Management Group, 1960–2003
Robert F. McDermott
USAA, 1969–1993
Patrick J. McGovern
International Data Group, 1967–2002
William G. McGowan
MCI Communications, 1968–1985
Thomas S. Monaghan
Domino's Pizza, 1960–1998
Robert G. Mondavi
Robert Mondavi Winery, 1966–1990
Thomas S. Murphy
Capital Cities/ABC, 1966–1990
Jean Nidetch
Weight Watchers International, 1963–1978
M. Kenneth Oshman
Rolm Corporation, 1969–1984
Max Palevsky
Scientific Data Systems, 1961–1969
Ray T. Parfet, Jr.
Upjohn Company, 1969–1987
Jeno F. Paulucci
Jeno's Frozen Pizza, 1967–1986
H. Ross Perot
Electronic Data Systems, 1962–1979
Thomas B. Pickens
Mesa Petroleum Company, 1964–1996
Charles M. Pigott
PACCAR, 1967–1996
Monroe J. Rathbone
Standard Oil of New Jersey, 1960–1965
Thomas M. Rauch
Smith Kline & French Laboratories, 1967–1971
Sumner M. Redstone
Viacom, 1967–Present
Jean Riboud
Schlumberger, Limited, 1965–1985
Cedric H. Rieman
Gardner-Denver Company, 1963–1972
Leonard S. Riggio
Barnes & Noble, 1965–2002
David Rockefeller
Chase Manhattan Bank, 1969–1980
Willard F. Rockwell, Jr.
Rockwell International, 1967–1979
Francis C. Rooney, Jr.
Melville Corporation, 1964–1987
Joseph L. Rose
Deluxe Check Printers, 1962–1976
Steven J. Ross
Warner Communications, 1962–1992
Pete Rozelle
National Football League, 1960–1989
W. Jeremiah Sanders III
Advanced Micro Devices, 1969–2002
Richard M. Schulze
Best Buy, 1966–2002
Barry Schwartz
Calvin Klein, 1968–Present
Robert B. Shetterly
Clorox Company, 1969–1980
Muriel Siebert
Muriel Siebert & Company, 1967–Present
Herbert J. Siegel
Chris-Craft Industries, 1968–Present
Henry E. Singleton
Teledyne, 1960–1986
William F. Souder, Jr.
Marsh & McLennan, 1969–1973
Robert D. Stuart, Jr.
Quaker Oats Company, 1966–1981
John E. Swearingen
Standard Oil of Indiana, 1960–1983
R. David Thomas
Wendy's International, 1969–1982
John P. Thompson
Southland Corporation, 1961–1986
Laurence A. Tisch
Loew's, 1961–1999
Jane Trahey
Trahey Advertising, 1960–1975
Robert E. (Ted) Turner
Turner Communications, 1963–1996
Charles R. Walgreen III
Walgreen Company, 1969–1998
Henry G. Walter, Jr.
International Flavors & Fragrances, 1962–1985
Featured Profile
Samuel M. Walton

Wal-Mart Corporation, 1962–1988

Samuel M. Walton
Wal-Mart Corporation, 1962–1988
Ralph E. Ward
Chesebrough-Pond's, 1968–1987
Sigfried Weis
Weis Markets, 1961–1994
Jann S. Wenner
Rolling Stone Magazine, 1967–Present
Leslie Wexner
Limited (The), Inc., 1963–Present
George H. Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, 1966–1999
Thornton A. Wilson
Boeing Company, 1969–1986
William Wrigley III
William Wrigley Jr. Company, 1961–1999
Walter B. Wriston
Citibank/CitiCorp, 1967–1984
Vincent C. Ziegler
Gillette Company, 1965–1973
Load More

Social discord; antitrust legislation; conglomerates; bulging population; space race; booming economy

Demographics
Influence: High

Baby boom tapers off

Emigration from Asia and Latin America surges

Full Century

Technology
Influence: Medium-High

Man walks on the moon

Color TV market grows

Microchips expand possibilities in electronics industry

Integrated circuit boards replace transistor technology

First ATM installed

Full Century

Social Mores
Influence: Medium-High

Civil rights movement gain strength

Antiwar sentiment divides electorate

FDA approves oral contraceptive pill

Full Century

Government Intervention
Influence: Medium

Great Society

Consumer and environmental protection movements strengthen

Vehicle Safety Act and Highway Safety Act

Closing merger loophole opens door for conglomerate business model

Full Century

Labor
Influence: Medium-High

Factory automation slashes jobs

Service industry outpaces growth in manufacturing

Civil Rights Act

Equal Pay Act

Unions concentrated in big businesses

Formation of United Farm Workers union

Full Century

Global Events
Influence: High

Cold war continues to build

Bay of Pigs invasion; Cuban Missile Crisis

Vietnam War escalates

Full Century

View Full Century

the 20th Century Zeitgeist

Demographics
  • Demographics
  • Technology
  • Social Mores
  • Government Intervention
  • Labor
  • Global Events
Influence: High
190019

8.8 million immigrants arrive throughout decade

Cities expand

Population grows from 76 to 92 million

Rural Free Delivery routes added

Influence: Medium
10191019

Anti-immigration sentiment peaks during WWI

Great Migration begins as African-Americans relocate from rural South to northern cities

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

Population of urban centers overtakes that of rural communities

Tight immigration restrictions

Increase in divorce rates

Influence: Medium-Low
30193019

Westward migration of midwestern farmers and laborers for employment and better climate

Massive dust storms uproot millions

Smallest ten-year increase in population: 123-132 million

Influence: Medium-High
40194019

Baby boom begins

Suburbs start to form

Influence: High
50195019

Medical advances extend life expectancy

More people now live in suburbs than cities

Population soars to 179 million

largest ten-year increase

Influence: High
60196019

Baby boom tapers off

Emigration from Asia and Latin America surges

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

Urban blight

Rust Belt

Influence: Medium-High
80198019

Population migrates to West and Southwest

Influence: High
901990

Immigration tops 9 million (largest number since first decade)

Baby boomers age

Hispanics become fastest-growing minority

Population grows from 250 million to 281 million

Influence: Medium-High
190019

Model T

Plastic

Safety razor

Widespread use of steam engine, electricity, and openhearth furnace allows businesses to expand nationwide

Influence: Medium
10191019

First widespread use of auto assembly line

Self-starter increases popularity of automobile

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

KDKA, first radio station

First talking movie,

Influence: Medium
30193019

Advances in aviation

Nylon

Fiberglass

Instant photography

Air-conditioning begins to realize commercial potential

Influence: High
40194019

Planes and ships built in less than a day for the war effort

Atomic bomb

ENIAC computer

Penicillin used extensively to treat soldiers' infections

Synthetic rubberx

Influence: High
50195019

Television sales expand dramatically

Transistors used in portable radios and calculators

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Man walks on the moon

Color TV market grows

Microchips expand possibilities in electronics industry

Integrated circuit boards replace transistor technology

First ATM installed

Influence: Medium
70197019

Beginning of biotech industry

Fiber-optic wire

Pong (first video game)

UPC bar code

Supercomputer

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Software industry booms

PC use expands in scale and scope

CAD/CAM revolutionizes manufacturing

Space shuttle

Influence: Medium-High
901990

Boom in connectivity

Cloning, stem cell research

DVDs

Influence: Medium
190019

Progressivism

The Jungle sparks food and work safety movement

Influence: Low
10191019

Sedition Act

Prohibition begins

Red Scare

Race riots

Influence: Medium-High
20192019

Social divisions arise between rural and urban areas

Women's suffrage

Harlem Renaissance

Rampant bootlegging and organized crime

Influence: Medium
30193019

Escapism in radio serials

Prohibition repealed

Golden age of movies

Influence: Medium-Low
40194019

Patriotism soars

GI Bill

Influence: Medium-Low
50195019

Social conformity

McCarthyism

Membership in organized religion soars

Brown v. Board of Education desegregated public schools>

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Civil rights movement gain strength

Antiwar sentiment divides electorate

FDA approves oral contraceptive pill

Influence: High
70197019

National Organization for Women mobilizes for Equal Rights Amendment

Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion

Social discord continues over Vietnam War and civil rights

Watergate scandal undermines faith in authority

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Moral Majority

"Me" generation

Focus on training and fitness

Income gap widens dramatically

AIDS

Influence: High
901990

Internet "irrational exuberance"

Antigovernment sentiment: Waco standoff; Oklahoma City bombing

Influence: Medium-Low
190019

First significant enforcement of Sherman Antitrust Act

Pure Food and Drug Act; breakup of beef trust

Excise Tax imposed on corporations

Tariff Act forces corporations to open their books for government inspection

Influence: High
10191019

Breakup of Standard Oil and American Tobacco

Clayton Antitrust Act

Federal Reserve Act

First Federal-Aid Highway Act

Federal Trade Commission established

Personal income tax reinstituted

Influence: Low
20192019

U.S. Steel and Alcoa withstand antitrust accusations

Personal and corporate tax rates cut

Airmail service starts

Influence: High
30193019

The New Deal

Commercial and investment banking separated

Reconstruction Finance Corp. created to combat bank and business failures

Introduction of Federal Deposit Insurance

SEC established

Federal regulations prohibit false advertising

Influence: Low
40194019

Military spending explodes

Graduated income tax, Victory Tax adopted to fund war effort

Rationing

Influence: Medium-Low
50195019

Military spending shifts to nuclear deterrents

Small Business Administration created

Influence: Medium
60196019

Great Society

Consumer and environmental protection movements strengthen

Vehicle Safety Act and Highway Safety Act

Closing merger loophole opens door for conglomerate business model

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

Deregulation of oil and airline industries

New energy policies and programs

Stagflation cripples economy

Environmental protection weakened

Price controls

Influence: Low
80198019

Reaganomics

Heavy defense and deficit spending

Savings and Loan bailout

Chrysler bailout

Breakup of AT&T

Influence: Medium-Low
901990

Family and Medical Leave Act

Americans with Disabilities Act

Welfare reform

Antitrust action initiated against Microsoft

Influence: Medium-Low
190019

Fewer than 500,000 union members

Department of Commerce and Labor created

Influence: Medium
10191019

Ford doubles factory wages and shortens workday

Labor Secretary position created

Worker shortage: Unions double membership and increase wages

Influence: Medium-Low
20192019

Union membership declines sharply

Minimum wage and maximum working hour legislation overturned

Influence: High
30193019

Unemployment peaks at 25%

Unions surge, adding 7 million members in a single year

Sit-down strikes at GM and other auto makers

Government work programs launched: CCC, PWA, WPA

CIO union created

NLRB created

Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage

Influence: Low
40194019

Rosie the Riveter

Postwar strikes

Productivity surge

Government backlash against postwar union movement

Influence: Medium
50195019

The Organization Man

Union membership peaks

The AFL merges with the CIO: 15 million members

Influence: Medium-High
60196019

Factory automation slashes jobs

Service industry outpaces growth in manufacturing

Civil Rights Act

Equal Pay Act

Unions concentrated in big businesses

Formation of United Farm Workers union

Influence: Medium
70197019

Wage controls

OSHA created

Service economy expands

Women enter the workforce in large numbers

Influence: Medium-Low
80198019

Air traffic controllers' union dismantled

Union representation drops

Information technology redistributes job functions

Influence: Low
901990

Reengineering

Record high employment

Service sector outpaces manufacturing in new job creation

Influence: Low
190019

U.S. begins construction of Panama Canal

Influence: High
10191019

War Industries Board coordinates activities among labor, government, and business for WWI

Cost-plus contracts introduced

Protectionist tariffs reduced

Influence: Medium-Low
20192019

Isolationism

U.S. restores high tariffs

U.S. pushes for debt recovery

Allied nations seek war reparations from Axis powers

Influence: Medium-Low
30193019

Increased tariff protection through Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Continued isolationism

Influence: High
40194019

War Production Board readies nation for WWII

U.S. becomes a global power

Creation of IMF and World Bank

Marshall Plan

Cold war begins

Influence: Medium-High
50195019

Cold war escalates

Korean War forces another mobilization effort

Influence: High
60196019

Cold war continues to build

Bay of Pigs invasion; Cuban Missile Crisis

Vietnam War escalates

Influence: Medium-High
70197019

OPEC oil crisis

Vietnam War ends

Iran hostage crisis

Imports outpace exports

Influence: Medium-High
80198019

Berlin wall falls

End of cold war

Iran-Contra Affair

Influence: High
901990

USSR dismantled; ethnic conflicts exposed

Gulf War: real-time TV coverage

Asian financial crisis

NAFTA enacted

European Union forms

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