Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr. (March 4, 1906 – February 10, 2007) was an American businessman who was the president of

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

from 1939 until 1963 and the

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

from 1963 until 1976.

Biography

He was born on March 4, 1906, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to

Charles Rudolph Walgreen Charles Rudolph Walgreen (October 9, 1873 – December 11, 1939) was an American businessman and the founder of Walgreens. Background Walgreen was born on a farm near Galesburg, Illinois before moving to Dixon, Illinois, in 1887. He was the so ...

and Myrtle Norton. He attended the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and was a member of

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...

. Walgreen Jr. started out as a buyer for the company. As head of the company he increased the profit and size of the drug store, encouraged new lines of products to be sold and changed the format from counter service to self-service. He relinquished his role in company in 1969 to his son Charles R. Walgreen III. He died in 2007 at age 100.

Legacy

Shortly before his death, Walgreen donated $10 million to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and that gift proved to be instrumental in the building of the Walgreen Drama Center located on the University of Michigan's North Campus in

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

References

External links

American leadersWalgreens100th birthday
* 1906 births 2007 deaths American people of Swedish descent American men centenarians University of Michigan College of Pharmacy alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Chicago Walgreens people {{US-business-bio-1900s-stub