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{{short description|American businessman and founder of Walgreens}}
'''Charles Rudolph Walgreen''' ([[October 9]], [[1873]] – [[December 11]], [[1939]]) was a [[United States of America|United States]] [[drugstore]] [[businessman]]. He was born in [[Galesburg, Illinois]], the son of [[Sweden|Swedish]] emigrants. After being inspired by his doctor, Walgreen became a registered pharmacist. Walgreen served in the [[Spanish-American War]] as a member the [[1st Illinois Volunteer Cavalry]]. After being discharged, Walgreen returned to [[United States|America]] to work for pharmacist [[Issac Blood]]. Blood retired and Walgreen bought the drug store and founded the [[Walgreens drugstores]] in [[1901]], for which he was the [[eponym]]. His son [[Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr.]] ([[March 4]], [[1906]] – [[February 10]], [[2007]]) and grandson [[Charles R. Walgreen III]] both shared his name and played prominent roles in the company he founded.
{{for|his son|Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Charles R. Walgreen.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1873|10|09}}
| birth_place = [[Dixon, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1939|12|11|1873|10|09}}
| death_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| occupation = Businessman
| known_for = Founding [[Walgreens]]
| spouse = Myrtle Norton Walgreen<ref>[http://news.walgreens.com/article_print.cfm?article_id=2822] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726092010/http://news.walgreens.com/article_print.cfm?article_id=2822 |date=July 26, 2011 }}</ref>
| children = 2, including [[Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr.|Charles&nbsp;Jr.]]
| alma_mater = Dixon Business College
| website =
| signature =
}}
'''Charles Rudolph Walgreen''' (October 9, 1873 – December 11, 1939) was an American businessman and the founder of [[Walgreens]].


==Background==
After decades of sucking the blood out of children and hooking America on smack, Cork decided it was time for him to make a clone of himself to take Walgreens and Russia into the new millennia.
He was born in [[Dixon, Illinois]], before moving to [[Galesburg, Illinois]], at a young age. He was the son of [[Sweden|Swedish]] immigrants.
With the help of a grue geneticist from the Kingdom of Old Orleans, Cork inserted his DNA into the egg of a Grue to unleash the most intimidating creature that the family of Walgreen could produce. A new breed of vampire and Grue had been born.


In the 1790s, Charles's great-great-great-grandfather, Sven Olofsson, adopted the surname ''Wahlgren'' ({{IPA-sv|ˈvɑ̂ːlɡreːn}}){{citation needed|date=October 2019}} during his military service, a family fact passed down over the generations. When Charles's father, Carl Magnus Olofsson, came to America from Sweden, he decided to change the family name to ''Walgreen''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=mBeukWeLRmcC America's Corner Store: Walgreen's Prescription for Success] Google Books</ref> When Charles was still quite young he and his family relocated to [[Dixon, Illinois]], in 1887. He attended [[Dixon High School (Illinois)|Dixon High School]], Dixon Business College. He was a member of the international fraternity [[Tau Kappa Epsilon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thezephyr.com/backtrack/cwalgreen.htm|title=BACKTRACKING|publisher=Thezephyr.com|accessdate=December 11, 2014}}</ref>
They named the clone Kevin Walgreen. He was a bit of a disappointment to Cork. Kevin was not a day walker and he slept a lot. He even came out with red hair. When Cork brought this to the attention of the Grue geneticist, it said that its great great great grandfather was the has-been comedian Carrot Top, which would technically place Kevin in the race known as the Ginger Kids.


As a young adult, he lost part of a finger in an accident at a shoe factory. The doctor who treated him persuaded him to become an apprentice for a local druggist. His interest in pharmacy dated from the time he was employed by D.S. Horton, a druggist in Dixon where he was apprenticed as a pharmacist. In 1893, Walgreen went to Chicago and became a registered pharmacist.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/laborhall/2006_walgreen.htm |title=U.S. Department of Labor - Labor Hall of Fame - Charles R. Walgreen |accessdate=17 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510075313/https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/laborhall/2006_walgreen.htm |archivedate=May 10, 2009 }}</ref> At the start of the [[Spanish–American War]], Walgreen enlisted with the [[1st Illinois Volunteer Cavalry]]. While serving in Cuba, he contracted [[malaria]] and [[yellow fever]], which continued to plague him for the rest of his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genealogytrails.com/ill/lee/leewalgreen.html|title=LEE COUNTY ILLINOIS GENEALOGY AND HISTORY|publisher=Genealogytrails.com|accessdate=December 11, 2014}}</ref>
Further enraging Cork, Kevin denounced Marxism and quickly brought Capitalism into the Company. With a bold move of defiance, he dropped the price on children to $1 each every few weeks, marking the occasion as Dollar Day$, and opened over 78,203 Medicare Part D Plans to help fit the needs of particular customers with their methamphetamine payments.
This threw Walgreens into chaos. The shelves never had enough children to last the week of a sale. Pharmacists were sticking their fingers up each other’s ass and taking turns smelling each finger and admiring the aroma. The members of management were actually Man Bear Pigs and their noses were covered with shit. The veteran employees were killed by space monkeys and penguins. Then the space monkeys and penguins killed Darek Jensen, after they beat him, they desided to sell him to Michael Jackson, where he is sexually abused every Wednesday. Walgreens Drug Store, in short, was now on a mission to replace everyone's child with a genetically worse-off child in the likeness of Charles, Chuck, Cork or Kevin.


==Career==
This new race, crossing the violent gene of the Grue with the flaws of its management and corporate officials, produced a being known only as Sally Struthers. Sally Struthers ordered Kevin to put on a pair of cleats and crawl into her uterus to give it a good scrubbing and he remains inside her to this day, humping her eggs in an endless attempt to be reborn.
After his discharge, Walgreen returned to Chicago and worked as a pharmacist for Isaac Blood. In 1901, he opened a second store in 1909 and by 1916 owned nine drug stores, which he incorporated as Walgreen Co. Walgreens was one of the first chains to carry non-pharmaceuticals as a mainstay of the store's retail selection. Walgreens offered low-priced lunch counters, built its own ice cream factory, and introduced the malted milk shake in 1922. By 1927, Walgreen had established 110 stores.


His son [[Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr.]] (March 4, 1906 – February 10, 2007) and grandson Charles R. Walgreen III both shared his name and played prominent roles in the company he founded. His daughter, Ruth Walgreen, married [[Justin Whitlock Dart Sr.|Justin Whitlock Dart]], who left the Walgreens company after they divorced and went on to control the rival [[Rexall]] Drug Stores in 1943.<ref>[http://www.il.ngb.army.mil/History/famous/walgreen.htm] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050424084740/http://www.il.ngb.army.mil/History/famous/walgreen.htm |date=April 24, 2005}}</ref> Ruth, in her adult years a published poet, eventually remarried and began spending winters in [[Tucson, Arizona]], where in the early 1960s, she was instrumental in establishing the [[University of Arizona Poetry Center|Poetry Center]] at the [[University of Arizona]].

He is a member of the [[Labor Hall of Fame]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*Griffin, Marie. ''Industry 'Legends' Deserve Recognition'' (Drug Store News, October 9, 1995)
*Ingham, John N. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983)
*Van Doren, Charles, ed. ''Webster's American Biographies'' (Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1979)


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.walgreens.com/default.jsp Walgreens Official Website]
*[http://www.military.com/Careers/Content1?file=trans_charles_walgreen.htm&area=Content Brief biography of Charles Walgreen]

{{Walgreens}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Walgreen, Charles Rudolph}}
{{business-bio-stub}}
[[Category:1873 births|Walgreen, Charles Rudolph]]
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1939 deaths|Walgreen, Charles Rudolph]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:Swedish-Americans|Walgreen, Charles Rudolph]]
[[Category:People from Knoxville, Illinois]]
[[Category:American businesspeople|Walgreen, Charles R.]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]
[[Category:Pharmacists|Walgreen, Charles R.]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Illinois]]
[[Category:American people of Swedish descent]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in retailing]]
[[Category:American pharmacists]]
[[Category:American company founders]]
[[Category:Walgreens people]]
[[Category:Methodists from Illinois]]

Revision as of 08:19, 15 September 2023

For his son, see Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr.

Charles Rudolph Walgreen
Born(1873-10-09)October 9, 1873
Dixon, Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 1939(1939-12-11) (aged 66)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma materDixon Business College
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounding Walgreens
SpouseMyrtle Norton Walgreen[1]
Children2, including Charles Jr.

Charles Rudolph Walgreen (October 9, 1873 – December 11, 1939) was an American businessman and the founder of Walgreens.

Background

He was born in Dixon, Illinois, before moving to Galesburg, Illinois, at a young age. He was the son of Swedish immigrants.

In the 1790s, Charles's great-great-great-grandfather, Sven Olofsson, adopted the surname Wahlgren (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈvɑ̂ːlɡreːn])[citation needed] during his military service, a family fact passed down over the generations. When Charles's father, Carl Magnus Olofsson, came to America from Sweden, he decided to change the family name to Walgreen.[2] When Charles was still quite young he and his family relocated to Dixon, Illinois, in 1887. He attended Dixon High School, Dixon Business College. He was a member of the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon.[3]

As a young adult, he lost part of a finger in an accident at a shoe factory. The doctor who treated him persuaded him to become an apprentice for a local druggist. His interest in pharmacy dated from the time he was employed by D.S. Horton, a druggist in Dixon where he was apprenticed as a pharmacist. In 1893, Walgreen went to Chicago and became a registered pharmacist.[4] At the start of the Spanish–American War, Walgreen enlisted with the 1st Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. While serving in Cuba, he contracted malaria and yellow fever, which continued to plague him for the rest of his life.[5]

Career

After his discharge, Walgreen returned to Chicago and worked as a pharmacist for Isaac Blood. In 1901, he opened a second store in 1909 and by 1916 owned nine drug stores, which he incorporated as Walgreen Co. Walgreens was one of the first chains to carry non-pharmaceuticals as a mainstay of the store's retail selection. Walgreens offered low-priced lunch counters, built its own ice cream factory, and introduced the malted milk shake in 1922. By 1927, Walgreen had established 110 stores.

His son Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr. (March 4, 1906 – February 10, 2007) and grandson Charles R. Walgreen III both shared his name and played prominent roles in the company he founded. His daughter, Ruth Walgreen, married Justin Whitlock Dart, who left the Walgreens company after they divorced and went on to control the rival Rexall Drug Stores in 1943.[6] Ruth, in her adult years a published poet, eventually remarried and began spending winters in Tucson, Arizona, where in the early 1960s, she was instrumental in establishing the Poetry Center at the University of Arizona.

He is a member of the Labor Hall of Fame.

References

  1. ^ [1] Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ America's Corner Store: Walgreen's Prescription for Success Google Books
  3. ^ "BACKTRACKING". Thezephyr.com. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "U.S. Department of Labor - Labor Hall of Fame - Charles R. Walgreen". Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  5. ^ "LEE COUNTY ILLINOIS GENEALOGY AND HISTORY". Genealogytrails.com. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  6. ^ [2] Archived April 24, 2005, at the Wayback Machine

Sources

  • Griffin, Marie. Industry 'Legends' Deserve Recognition (Drug Store News, October 9, 1995)
  • Ingham, John N. Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983)
  • Van Doren, Charles, ed. Webster's American Biographies (Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1979)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Rudolph_Walgreen&oldid=1175473519"