Henry Gordon Selfridge was born in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1858. After the Civil War the only family member he had left was his mom Lois. His two younger brothers died young and his dad never returned from the Civil War.
In 1879 he moved to Chicago to take a job with Marshall Fields. During the following 25 years he worked his way up to director of the company and manager of the retail store.
He married Rose Buckingham in 1890. They had 4 children. Her family funded the fountain in Chicago's Grant Park. It was a memorial to her brother Clarence.
Henry sold his interest in Marshall Field's and in 1904 opened the H. G. Selfridge & Co. Department Store. Two months later he sold it to Carson, Pirie and Scott.
The family moved to London in 1904 and in 1906 opened a department store called Selfridges. It featured everything a shopper could want, all in one luxurious place. Newspapers wrote that 200,000 people attended the grand opening.
There were restaurants, a library, reading/writing rooms, reception rooms, first aid room and a silence room. I am quite sure the silent room would not have been the place for me. I talk too much! The confectionary looks like my it would have been more my speed.
Henry was known for happily spending a lot of money. When the Great Depression struck, he had amassed a sizeable debt. It led to him being forced out of the company in 1941. He lost most of his fortune and died in 1947 of pneumonia. In 1951 the store was purchased by Lewis's chain of department stores.
There is a lot more to this story and you can find it at a variety of websites. It would take more than one blog post to even come close to everything Henry created. Here are a few sites I used for my research:
A simple Google search will bring up photos of the store's interiors - you could even play a game of mini-golf on the roof at one time! I watched the series Mr. Selfridge some time ago, not knowing he was born right here in Wisconsin. This is what draws me into research. History is fascinating and you just never know who you will meet!
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