John Willard Marriott
| J. Willard Marriott | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
John Willard Marriott September 17, 1900 Marriott Settlement, Utah |
| Died | August 13, 1985 (aged 84) Wolfeboro, New Hampshire |
| Occupation | Founder, Marriott Corporation, since 1993 Marriott International |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Sheets |
| Children |
Bill Marriott Richard Marriott |
John Willard Marriott, Sr. (September 17, 1900 – August 13, 1985) was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the founder of the Marriott Corporation (which became Marriott International in 1993), the parent company of one of the world's largest hospitality, hotel chains, and food services companies. The Marriott company rose from a small root beer stand in Washington D.C. in 1927 to a chain of family restaurants by 1932, to its first motel in 1957. By the time he died, the Marriott company operated 1,400 restaurants and 143 hotels and resorts worldwide, including two , earned USD $4.5 billion in revenue annually with 154,600 employees. The company's interests even extended to a line of cruise ships.
Marriott was born at Marriott Settlement near Ogden, Utah, and was raised on his father's farm. His father gave him considerable responsibility at an early age: he was sent to San Francisco on his own with 3,000 sheep in railcars at the age of 13.
At the age of 19 and as a devout Mormon, he undertook the traditional missionary work of the church for two years, being assigned to New England. On his way home after completing his mission, he passed through Washington D.C. during the sweltering summer months of 1921. While there:
Marriott graduated from Weber State University, where he served as student body president, with an associate degree in June 1923 and from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in June 1926. Marriott affiliated with the Phi Delta Theta social fraternity at the University of Utah and the Alpha Kappa Psi professional fraternity. After Marriott earned his bachelor's degree, the president of Weber, Aaron Tracy, who had assisted Marriott to enroll there by helping him make up secondary education credits missed due to the Marriott family's ranching efforts, employed him at the school in Ogden. Marriott soon felt the urge, however, to be his own boss. He heard about a cousin's A&W Root Beer franchise and, remembering his experience seeing so many people suffer through the brutal summer heat of Washington, D.C., he decided to look into a venture there.
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