William Wrigley, Jr.
| William L. Wrigley Jr. | |
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| Born |
September 30, 1861 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | January 26, 1932 (aged 70) Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California |
| Occupation | Confectionery magnate |
| Net worth | USD $34 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/1707th of US GNP) |
| Spouse(s) | Ada Elizabeth Foote |
| Children | Dorothy, Philip Knight Wrigley |
| Parent(s) | William and Mary A. Ladley |
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William L. Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He was founder and eponym of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wrigley Jr. is rumored to have co-founded his namesake company with a lesser-known Canadian named M. Bessemer, who was a close childhood friend of Wrigley Jr.
Wrigley was born in September 30th 1861, during the Civil War, in Philadelphia.
In 1891, at the age of 29, Wrigley moved from Philadelphia to Chicago. He had $32 to his name and with it he formed a business to sell Wrigley's Scouring Soap. He offered customers small premiums, particularly baking powder, as an incentive to buy his soap. Finding the baking powder was more popular than his soap, Wrigley switched to selling baking powder, and giving his customers two packages of chewing gum for each can of baking powder they purchased. Again, Wrigley found that the premium he offered was more popular than his base product, and his company began to concentrate on the manufacture and sale of chewing gum. In this business, Wrigley made his name and fortune.
Wrigley played an instrumental role in the development of Santa Catalina Island, California, off the shore of Los Angeles, California. He bought a controlling interest in the Santa Catalina Island Company in 1919 and with the company received the island. Wrigley improved the island with public utilities, new steamships, a hotel, the Casino building, and extensive plantings of trees, shrubs, and flowers. He also sought to create an enterprise that would help employ local residents. By making use of clay and minerals found on the island at a beach near Avalon, in 1927 William Wrigley Jr. created the Pebbly Beach quarry and tile plant. Along with creating jobs for Avalon residents, the plant also supplied material for Wrigley's numerous building projects on the island. After the building of Avalon's Casino (see Avalon Theater (Catalina)) in 1929, the Catalina Clay Products Tile and Pottery Plant began producing glazed tiles, dinnerware and other household items such as bookends.
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