Richard Joshua Reynolds Jr.
[Schnakenberg, Heidi. Kid Carolina: R. J. Reynolds Jr., a Tobacco Fortune, and the Mysterious Death of a Southern Icon.] (April 4, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American entrepreneur and the son of
R.J. Reynolds
Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
The son of a tobacco farmer and major slaveowner, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry Coll ...
, founder of the
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded by namesake R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the largest tobacco company in the United States. The company is a w ...
.
Biography
Reynolds was an American businessman, politician, activist and philanthropist.
In 1934, he acquired
Sapelo Island
Sapelo Island is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is accessible only by boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mile (11 ...
on the Atlantic coast of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and, following the death of
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston (July 17, 1867 – March 29, 1938) was an American civil engineer and businessman. He co-owned the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball with Jacob Ruppert from 1915 to 1923, turning them from one of the worst ...
in 1938, the
Butler Island Plantation
Reynolds was appointed treasurer of the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
in early 1941 before being elected mayor of
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...
, a few months later.
He took a leave of absence from his mayoral duties and resigned his treasurer post in 1942 when he began military service as a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
at the Naval Combat Intelligence School in
Quonset Point, Rhode Island
Quonset Point (), also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Its name is widely known from the Quonset hut, which was first manufactured there. ''Quonset'' is an Algonq ...
.
As a businessman, he did not work at R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company except as a young teenager. and was involved in creating
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
. He was also a yachtsman (having the 125 ton ketch Aries built for him in 1952), pilot, aviator, and philanthropist.
Family life
Reynolds had four sons with his first wife, socialite Elizabeth McCaw Dillard: Richard Joshua Reynolds III (1933–1994), John Dillard Reynolds (1935–1990), Zachary Taylor Reynolds (1938–1979),
[ ] and William Neal Reynolds (1940–2009). From his second marriage to the Hollywood stage and movie actress, Marianne O'Brien, his sons were: the activist
Patrick Reynolds, and Michael Randolph Reynolds (1947–2004).
His third marriage was to Muriel Marston Greenough, the younger sister of Anthony Heselton Marston, who was a major Canadian industrialist.
[ His first three marriages ended in divorce. His fourth marriage, in 1961, was to Dr. Annemarie Schmitt, a psychiatrist.]
Death
Reynolds was diagnosed with emphysema
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...
in 1960 and died four years later in Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
See also
*Arca Foundation
The Arca Foundation is a progressive American philanthropic foundation. Founded in 1952 as the Nancy Reynolds Bagley Foundation, the foundation was renamed the Arca Foundation in 1958. The foundation was founded with assets from the R. J. Reynold ...
References
External links
Z. Smith Reynolds AirportWinston-Salem Journal Series Death at Reynolda – Z. Smith ReynoldsThe Z Smith Reynolds Foundation
*Richard J. Reynolds High School
Richard J. Reynolds High School now the Richard J. Reynolds Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts (often simply R. J. Reynolds High School or Reynolds) is a high school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools located in Winston-S ...
*R. J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium
The R. J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium, located in Winston-Salem, NC, was built 1919–1924 under the direction of architect Charles Barton Keen (designer of the R. J. Reynolds estate, Reynolda House). Keen also designed the adjacent Richard ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, R. J. Jr.
1906 births
1964 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century mayors of places in North Carolina
Reynolds family
Democratic National Committee treasurers
Mayors of Winston-Salem, North Carolina