Collier, Barron Gift (23 March 1873–13 March 1939), advertising entrepreneur and capitalist, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Cowles Miles Collier, a naval officer and artist, and Hannah Celeste Shackelford. Collier attended the Memphis public schools until age sixteen, when he dropped out to solicit business for the Illinois Central Railroad, to contract with the city of Memphis to improve the street lighting, and to learn advertising and selling for his uncle, owner of the ...
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Thompson, J. Walter (28 October 1847–16 October 1928), entrepreneur and publicist, was born James Walter Thompson in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the son of Alonzo Decalvis Thompson, a contractor and builder of covered bridges, and Cornelia Ann Roosevelt. Thompson was educated in the public schools of Fremont, Ohio, and moved to New York in 1866 to enlist in the Marine Corps. After serving two years aboard the USS ...
