Virgil Browne

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Virgil Browne (born November 21, 1877 in Mount Pleasant , Titus County , Texas , † December 31, 1979 in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma County , Oklahoma ) was an American entrepreneur and inventor .

Life

Family and education

Raised in modest circumstances, Texas native Virgil Browne, son of Spillman Browne and his from Tuscaloosa in the state of Alabama originating wife Josephine, born in Jackson, graduated after attending the public schools in Mount Pleasant trained as a pharmacist .

Virgil Browne married Maimee Lee Browne (1881–1963), a woman politician who was committed to charity in April 1901 in Pittsburg , Texas. This marriage had six children, including his successor as president of the Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company Henry William Browne (1906-2002). Virgil Browne died on New Years Eve 1979 in Oklahoma City at the age of 102. He was buried in Rose Hill Burial Park.

Professional background

Virgil Browne, initially employed in his learned profession, was based in Houston and later in New Orleans . There he brewed the orange lemonade "Squeeze" , which enjoyed brisk sales in the New Orleans area. Despite this success, Browne expected Coca-Cola to be the leading brand in the foreseeable future. In 1922, supported by investors, he acquired the Coca-Cola bottler, which had been operating in Oklahoma City since 1903, namely the Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company. This company, which has been run by the Browne family since then, is currently the 7th largest Coca-Cola bottler in North America . Great Plains employs around 1,300 people and manufactures and sells Coca-Cola products in Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas .

Virgil Browne, who was instrumental in the development of the six-pack beverage carton, made additional wealth through the sale of beverage vending machines during his entrepreneurial life . The aviation enthusiast also supported businessman and financier Thomas E. Braniff financially in founding Braniff Airlines . He also sponsored Carl Magee in the development of the parking meter .

Virgil Browne also appeared as a patron . A bust in his honor is on display at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, which he co-financed.

literature

  • John D Bright: Kansas: The First Century, Volume 4, Lewis Historical Pub., New York, 1956, pp. 375, 376, 585.
  • Who's who in the South and Southwest, Volume 7, Marquis-Who's Who, Chicago, 1961, p. 104.
  • World Who's Who in Commerce and Industry, Volume 14, Marquis-Who's Who, Chicago, 1965, p. 164.
  • Mathew Paul Bonnifield: Oklahoma innovator: the life of Virgil Browne, Published for the Oklahoma Heritage Association by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1976 ISBN 080611326X
  • The Pacific Reporter, in: National reporter system: State series, West Publishing Company, St. Paul, 1978
  • 'Coke Pioneer' Virgil Browne Dies At 102, in: The Pittsburgh press, Pittsburgh Press Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., January 2, 1980, p. 5.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Browne, Virgil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur and inventor
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH Mount Pleasant , Titus County , Texas
DATE OF DEATH December 31, 1979
Place of death Oklahoma City , Oklahoma County , Oklahoma