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Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century

 
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82 Results
Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden Company, 1910–1966
Melvin H. Baker
National Gypsum Company, 1928–1951
Frank C. Ball
Ball Brothers Company, 1887–1943
Leon L. Bean
L. L. Bean, 1912–1967
Amos L. Beaty
Texaco, 1920–1926
Eugene N. Beesley
Eli Lilly & Company, 1969–1973
Joseph Boyer
Burroughs Adding Machine Company, 1905–1920
Charles F. Brooker
American Brass Company, 1900–1920
Ralph Budd
Great Northern Railroad, 1919–1932
Asa G. Candler
Coca-Cola Company, 1886–1916
James W. Cannon
Cannon Mills Company, 1887–1921
Willis H. Carrier
Carrier Corporation, 1914–1948
Harry Chandler
Los Angeles Times, 1917–1940
Ralph J. Cordiner
General Electric Company, 1950–1963
Walter E. Disney
Walt Disney Company, 1929–1966
John F. Dryden
Prudential Life Insurance Company, 1881–1911
Ole Evinrude
Outboard Motors Corporation, 1920–1928
Marshall Field
Marshall Field and Company, 1867–1906
Harvey S. Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, 1900–1932
Donald V. Fites
Caterpillar Tractor Company, 1990–1999
Henry Ford
Ford Motor Company, 1906–1918
Jack Frye
Trans-World Airlines, 1934–1947
Alfred C. Fuller
Fuller Brush Company, 1906–1943
Ernest Gallo
Gallo (E. & J.) Winery, 1933–1993
Frank E. Gannett
Gannett Company, 1906–1957
Amadeo Peter Giannini
Bank of America, 1904–1936
Maurice R. Greenberg
American International Group, 1967–1989
Paul Henson
United Utilities/Sprint Corporation, 1966–1990
Alonzo B. Hepburn
Chase National Bank, 1904–1911
Milton S. Hershey
Hershey Chocolate Company, 1900–1941
Charles E. Hires
Charles E. Hires Company, 1890–1918
Haroldson L. Hunt
Hunt Oil Company, 1936–1974
James W. Johnson
Johnson & Johnson Company, 1910–1932
Robert W. Johnson
Johnson & Johnson Company, 1885–1910
David W. Johnson
Campbell Soup Company, 1990–1997
Jesse H. Jones
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 1933–1939
W. Alton Jones
Cities Service Company, 1940–1953
Kaufman T. Keller
Chrysler Corporation, 1935–1950
Donald M. Kendall
PepsiCo, 1963–1986
Darwin P. Kingsley
New York Life Insurance Company, 1906–1930
James L. Kraft
Kraft (J. L.) Brothers and Company, 1909–1953
Alexander Legge
International Harvester Corporation, 1922–1933
William C. MacInnes
TECO Energy, 1954–1967
John W. Marriott
Marriott-Hot Shoppes, 1927–1972
Clayton L. Mathile
The Iams Company, 1981–1999
Frederick L. Maytag
Maytag Corporation, 1909–1921
David H. McConnell
Avon Products, 1886–1937
James H. McGraw
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1899–1928
James O. McKinsey
McKinsey & Company, 1925–1937
William L. McKnight
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 1929–1949
Malcolm P. McLean
Sea-Land Service, 1956–1969
George J. Mecherle
State Farm Insurance, 1922–1937
Frank A. Munsey
Munsey Publishing House, 1882–1925
Charles W. Nash
Nash Motors Company, 1916–1932
William Nickerson, Jr.
Golden State Insurance, 1924–1945
William C. Norris
Control Data Corporation, 1957–1986
Harrison G. Otis
Los Angeles Times, 1886–1917
John H. Patterson
National Cash Register Company, 1884–1921
Joseph N. Pew
Sun Oil Company, 1880–1912
Frank Phillips
Phillips Petroleum Company, 1917–1938
Alexander M. Poniatoff
Ampex Corporation, 1944–1955
Andrew W. Preston
United Fruit Company, 1882–1924
Arthur Reynolds
Continental & Commercial Bank, 1919–1929
O. Wayne Rollins
Rollins, 1948–1991
Harland Sanders
Kentucky Fried Chicken Company, 1956–1964
Clarence Saunders
Piggly Wiggly Stores, 1916–1924
Charles M. Schwab
Bethlehem Steel Corporation, 1904–1916
Edward W. Scripps
Scripps (E. W.) / United Press International, 1878–1908
Dennis Sheedy
Globe Smelting and Refining Company, 1889–1910
John R. Simplot
Simplot (J. R.) Corporation, 1928–1994
Henry E. Singleton
Teledyne, 1960–1986
John G. Sperling
Apollo Group, 1976–2001
Elbridge A. Stuart
Carnation Company, 1901–1932
John W. Van Dyke
Atlantic Refining Company, 1911–1927
Watson H. Vanderploeg
Kellogg Company, 1940–1956
Robert L. Vann
Pittsburgh Courier, 1910–1940
Theodore W. Waitt
Gateway, 1985–1999
Charles R. Walgreen
Walgreen Company, 1909–1939
Daniel Willard
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 1910–1941
Thornton A. Wilson
Boeing Company, 1969–1986
Charles S. Woolworth
Woolworth (F. W.) and Company, 1919–1944
Frank W. Woolworth
Woolworth (F. W.) and Company, 1879–1919
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THE 20th CENTURY ZEITGEIST

Six contextual factors deeply influenced the opportunities available to 20th century business leaders:

  • Demographics
  • Technology
  • Social Mores
  • Government
  • Labor
  • Global

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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