- William Wrigley Jr.
Infobox Person
name = William Wrigley Jr.
image_size =
caption =
birth_date =September 30 ,1861
birth_place =Philadelphia ,Pennsylvania ,United States
death_date =January 26 ,1932 (aged 70)
death_place = Phoenix,Arizona ,United States
occupation = Confectionary Magnate
spouse = Ada
parents = William and Mary A. Ladley
children = Dorothy,Philip Knight Wrigley William Wrigley Jr. (
September 30 ,1861 –January 26 ,1932 ) was a U.S.chewing gum industrialist. He was founder andeponym of theWm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. He was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania .Wrigley played an instrumental role in the history of Catalina Island, off the shore of
Los Angeles, California . He bought the island in 1919 and improved the island with public utilities, new steamships, a hotel, the Casino building, and extensive plantings of trees, shrubs and flowers. However, William Wrigley Jr.'s greatest legacy was his plan for the future of Catalina Island — that it remain protected for all generations to enjoy. His son, P.K. Wrigley, eventually established theCatalina Island Conservancy for this in 1972 and transferred all family ownership to it. Wrigley is honored with the Wrigley Memorial in theWrigley Botanical Gardens on the island.Wrigley was also owner of the
Chicago Cubs baseball team, which held its annual spring training on Catalina Island.Wrigley Field , the Cubs' ballpark in Chicago, is named for the owner. The now-demolished former home of the Los Angeles Angels of thePacific Coast League , at that time the Cubs' top farm team, was also called Wrigley Field. He purchased the Chicago Cubs fromAlbert Lasker in 1925. [ [http://www.msu.edu/~daggy/cop/bkofdead/obits-wo.htm http://www.msu.edu/~daggy/cop/bkofdead/obits-wo.htm] .]The
Arizona Biltmore Hotel inPhoenix, Arizona was partially financed, then wholly owned, by Wrigley, who finished the nearbyWrigley Mansion as a winter cottage in 1931. At 16,000 square feet it was the smallest of his five residences.Wrigley left his fortune to daughter Dorothy Wrigley Offield, and son,
P.K. Wrigley , who continued to run the company businesses for the next 45 years until his death.His great-grandson
William Wrigley, Jr. II is the executive-chairman and ex CEO of theWrigley Company . Mr Wrigley, Jr. was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2000.Notes
External links
* [http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC?vrsn=149&OP=contains&locID=chipl&srchtp=name&ca=3&c=1&AI=U13634484&NA=William+Wrigley&ste=12&tbst=prp&tab=1&docNum=K1631007626&bConts=43 Biography Resource Center]
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