Bernard Kroger

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Bernard Henry Kroger (born January 24, 1860 in Cincinnati , Ohio , † July 21, 1938 in Cape Cod , Massachusetts ) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the grocery and supermarket chain Kroger in 1883 .

Career

Bernard Henry Kroger, son of Mary Gertrude Schlebbe (1831-1918) and John Henry Kroger (1815-1880), both German immigrants, was born in Cincinnati about a year before the outbreak of the civil war . He was the fifth of ten children. The family lived above a dry goods store owned by the Krogers. Bernard Kroger was forced to go to work at the age of 13 to support the family. He quit his first job in a drugstore because his Catholic mother was against his work on Sundays. He then worked as a farm laborer near Pleasant Plain . During this time, he developed malaria and eventually came back home. Kroger then began working as a pusher for the Great Northern and Pacific Tea Company , and later for the Imperial Tea Company . But business was not going well. Two owners therefore made Kroger the manager. But when the owners refused to make Kroger a business partner, he took his money and opened his own grocery store. Kroger's company, The Great Western Tea Company , survived despite numerous initial difficulties and disasters. Within two years he opened branches in four different locations. In 1902 the company was renamed the Kroger Grocery and Baking Company . The company name was later shortened to Kroger . At the end of the 1920s he had opened over 5,500 branches. It is believed that he was responsible for introducing the low cost grocery chain models that continue to this day. Kroger was also responsible for founding Provident Bank . But he sold his stake in the bank in 1928 just before the Wall Street crash of 1929 . During a banking crisis in 1933, he donated $ 15 million of his savings to the bank to demonstrate its creditworthiness and avert a local crisis. Kroger has also been involved in many charitable projects, including opening parks, donating to zoos, and medical research. He died of a heart attack in Cape Cod at the age of 78 and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery , Cincinnati.

family

Bernard Henry Kroger married Mary Emily Jansen (1867–1899), daughter of Frances (1841–1908) and Frederick William Jansen (1834–1909). The couple had at least six children: Raymond W. (1887–1900), Gertrude (1888–1978), Lucile (1889–1932), Bernard Henry junior (1891–1933), Helen (1893–1968) and Chester Frederick (1896 -1949).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mary Gertrude Schlebbe Kroger in the database of Find a Grave . Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  2. ^ John Henry Kroger in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  3. ^ BH Kroger Dies , The New York Times, July 22, 1938
  4. ↑ Mary Emily Jansen Kroger in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  5. ^ Raymond W. Kroger in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  6. ^ Gertrude Kroger Pettengill in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ Lucile Kroger Berne in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  8. ↑ Bernard Henry Kroger, Jr. in the Find a Grave database . Accessed April 1, 2015.
  9. ↑ Helen Kroger Homan in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ Chester Frederick Kroger in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved April 2, 2015.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kroger, Bernard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kroger, Bernard Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Cincinnati , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH July 21, 1938
Place of death Cape Cod , Massachusetts