Conrad Nicholson Hilton

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Conrad Nicholson Hilton, 1962.
Bust of Hilton at The Mobley in Cisco, Texas

Conrad Nicholson Hilton (born December 25, 1887 in San Antonio , New Mexico , † January 3, 1979 in Santa Monica , California ) was a well-known hotelier .

Life

He was the son of the Norwegian Augustus "Gus" Halvorsen (Hilton), whose family lived on a farm near Kløfta in the municipality of Ullensaker in the province of Viken , and the Mary Genevive Laufersweiler, whose father was a merchant from the Hunsrück and came from Dörrebach . Relatives of the family still live in both places. Augustus Halvorsen emigrated to the USA in 1870 and took the name Hilton here.

Conrad Hilton received his education at the Goss Military Institute (now the New Mexico Military Institute), at St. Michael's College (now the Santa Fe University of Art and Design ) and what is now New Mexico Technology . Later he was a representative of the newly created state of New Mexico .

Conrad Hilton bought the Hotel Mobley in Cisco , Texas in 1919 and entered the hotel industry . The first self-built hotel Dallas Hilton opened on August 2, 1925. In 1946 he founded the Hilton Hotel Corporation with branches in the high-priced segment established around the world.

Conrad Hilton was married three times, to Mary Adelaide Barron (1925–1934), Zsa Zsa Gabor (1942–1947) and Mary Frances in 1976. He and Barron had three sons, Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Jr. , called "Nicky" (1926–1947). 1969), who was thrown out of a Swiss hotel management school due to indiscipline and was Elizabeth Taylor's first husband for nine months , William Barron Hilton (1927-2019) and Eric Michael Hilton (* 1932). Conrad and Zsa Zsa have a daughter, Constance Francesca Hilton (1947-2015).

At the age of seventy, Hilton published his autobiography Be My Guest in 1957 (German title: "Conrad Hilton - Die Welt zu Gast bei mir").

Conrad Hilton had made it his maxim to help design every Hilton hotel in the world himself. Until his death, there was not a single Hilton hotel that Conrad Hilton did not inaugurate himself.

Conrad Hilton died in Santa Monica on January 3, 1979, at the age of 91 and was buried in Calvary Hills Cemetery in Dallas , Texas . He brought most of his fortune to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation . The luxury hotel chain Conrad Hotels was named after him.

He is the great grandfather of Paris and Nicky Hilton .

Fonts

  • The world as my guest: The unusual life of the American hotel king (autobiography), Munich: Ehrenwirth 1960, English original last: Be my guest. Autobiography , Prentice-Hall , New York, 1987, ISBN 0-13-071598-0 .

literature

personal data
SURNAME Hilton, Conrad Nicholson
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hilton, Conrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Hotelier; Founder of the Hilton Hotel Corporation
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH San Antonio , New Mexico , USA
DATE OF DEATH 3rd January 1979
Place of death Santa Monica , California , USA