William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its ...

industrialist. He was founder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891.

Biography

William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pennsylvania, on September 30, 1861, the son of Mary Ann (née Ladley) and William Mills Wrigley Sr. His family were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

descent. In 1891, Wrigley moved from Philadelphia to Chicago to go into business for himself. He had $32 to his name ($931 in 2021 money) and with it he formed a business to sell Wrigley's Scouring Soap. He offered customers small premiums, particularly

baking powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increas ...

, 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

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 Santa Catalina Island ( xgf, Pimuu'nga or ; es, Isla Santa Catalina) is a rocky island off the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island name is often shortened to Catalina Island or just Catalina. The island is ...

, off the shore of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporated ...

, 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

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ca ...

s, 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 Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in th ...

, in 1927 William Wrigley Jr. created the Pebbly Beach

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

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 building the Avalon Casino in 1929, the Catalina Clay Products Tile and Pottery Plant began producing glazed tiles, dinnerware and other household items such as bookends. Another of Wrigley's legacies was his plan for the future of Catalina Island—that it be protected for future generations to enjoy. In 1972, his son,

Philip K. Wrigley Philip Knight Wrigley (December 5, 1894 – April 12, 1977), often called P. K. Wrigley, was an American chewing gum manufacturer and a Major League Baseball executive, inheriting both of those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant fa ...

, established the

Catalina Island Conservancy The Catalina Island Conservancy is a nonprofit organization established to protect and restore Santa Catalina Island, California, United States. The Conservancy was established in 1972 through the efforts of the Wrigley and Offield families. The ...

for this purpose and transferred all family ownership to it. Wrigley is honored by the Wrigley Memorial in the

Wrigley Botanical Gardens The Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden is a botanic garden on Santa Catalina Island, California, operated by the Catalina Island Conservancy. It also contains a memorial to William Wrigley Jr. Garden The botanic garden covers 38 acres (154,000 m²) ...

on the island. The Wrigley district of

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

bears his name. Wrigleys color ad 1920

In 1916, Wrigley bought a minority stake in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

baseball team as part of a group headed by

Charles Weeghman Charles Henry Weeghman (March 8, 1874 – November 1, 1938) was a German American restaurant entrepreneur and sports executive. Beginning in 1901, he began opening quick-service lunch counters throughout downtown Chicago. After failing to acquire ...

, former owner of the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

Chicago Whales The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Feder ...

. Over the next four years, as Weeghman's lunch-counter business declined, he was forced to sell much of his stock in the ball club to Wrigley. By 1918, Weeghman had sold all of his stock to Wrigley, making Wrigley the largest shareholder and principal owner, and by 1921, Wrigley was majority owner.

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

, the Cubs'

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

in Chicago, was renamed for him in 1926, and has continued to bear the name to this day. The now-demolished former home of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

, at that time the Cubs' top

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, was also called

. Wrigley purchased the Chicago Cubs from

Albert Lasker Albert Davis Lasker (May 1, 1880 – May 30, 1952) was an American businessman who played a major role in shaping modern advertising. He was raised in Galveston, Texas, where his father was the president of several banks. Moving to Chicago, he be ...

in 1925. In 1930, Wrigley gave

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers an ...

use of a six-story factory building he owned in Chicago to use as a lodging house for the unemployed. He donated the building, then called New Start Lodge, to the Salvation Army outright the following year.William Wrigley Jr. Gives Buildings Used by Salvation Army
, '' Chicago Tribune''. June 22, 1931. Retrieved October 19, 2019. It was renamed Wrigley Lodge later that year. The

Arizona Biltmore Hotel The Arizona Biltmore Hotel is a resort located in Phoenix near 24th Street and Camelback Road. It is part of Hilton Hotels' Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts. It was featured on the Travel Channel show ''Great Hotels.'' The Arizona Biltmore h ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, Arizona was partially financed and wholly owned by Wrigley, who finished the nearby

Wrigley Mansion The Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix, Arizona, is a landmark building constructed between 1929 and 1931 by chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. It is also known as William Wrigley Jr. Winter Cottage and as La Colina Solana. Located at 2501 East ...

as a winter cottage in 1931. At , it was the smallest of his five residences.

Death

William Wrigley Jr. died on January 26, 1932, at his Phoenix mansion, at age 70. He was stricken by acute

indigestion Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier ...

, complicated by a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. He was interred in his custom-designed

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

located in the tower of the Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens near his beloved home on California's Catalina Island. In 1947, Wrigley's remains were moved to allow the gardens to be made public.Nancy Wride
A Catalina Oasis Offers the Mortal and the Vital
''The Los Angeles Times'' June 14, 2003 There is a rumor that the remains were moved during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

due to "wartime security concerns". His original grave memorial marker still adorns the tower site. Wrigley was reinterred in the corridor alcove end of the Sanctuary of Gratitude, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

. He left his fortune to daughter Dorothy Wrigley Offield and son

. The son continued to run the company until his death in 1977. His ashes were interred near his father, in the same Sanctuary of Gratitude alcove. His great-grandson, William Wrigley Jr. II, is the executive chairman and former CEO of the

Wrigley Company The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, known as the Wrigley Company, is an American multinational chewing gum (Wrigley's gum) company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley's is wholly owned by Mars, In ...

. Wrigley was inducted into the

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learnin ...

U.S. Business Hall of Fame The Global Business Hall of Fame, powered by JA Worldwide, was established by Junior Achievement in 1975 as the U.S. Business Hall of Fame, the result of an idea by Willard F. Rockwell, Jr. (former chairman and CEO of Rockwell International) an ...

in 2000.

Gallery

References

External links

Biography Resource Center
* Jack Bales,
Weeghman and Wrigley,"WrigleyIvy.com
* Jack Bales,
Wrigley Jr. and Veeck Sr.,”WrigleyIvy.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrigley, William Jr. American chief executives of food industry companies Businesspeople in confectionery 1861 births 1932 deaths Wrigley family American people of English descent Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball owners Businesspeople from Philadelphia Santa Catalina Island (California) Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Chicago Cubs executives Chicago Cubs owners Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) American Quakers

Biography

Death

Gallery

See also

References

External links