Hilton, Conrad

Hilton, Conrad

▪ American businessman
in full  Conrad Nicholson Hilton  
born Dec. 25, 1887, San Antonio, N.M., U.S.
died Jan. 3, 1979, Santa Monica, Calif.

      American businessman and founder of one of the world's largest hotel organizations.

      As a boy in the little New Mexican desert town of San Antonio, Hilton helped his enterprising father turn the family's large adobe house into an inn for traveling salesmen. By 1915 he was president as well as partner in the A.H. Hilton and Son general store. He served a term in the state legislature and went to France as a second lieutenant in World War I.

      After his father's death in 1918, Hilton sought to continue expansion of the family business. In Cisco, Texas, where he had gone to negotiate purchase of a bank, he bought the Mobley Hotel. Finding the hotel business lucrative, he bought others in Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, and elsewhere in Texas. The depression of the 1930s hurt but did not destroy the Hilton chain, and by 1939 he was building, leasing, or buying (and sometimes selling) hotels in California, New York, Illinois, and elsewhere. In 1946 the Hilton Hotels Corporation was formed, followed in 1948 by the Hilton International Company, as he expanded his operations to other countries. In 1954 he bought the Statler Hotel chain. Diversification included a credit corporation, the origin of Carte Blanche credit cards, and a car-rental corporation.

      By the 1960s the company reorganized its foreign operations, going into partnership with outside corporations and foreign governments. Many Hilton hotels became franchises or were only partially owned by the Hilton chain. Conrad Hilton was succeeded as president of the corporation by his son Barron in 1966.

      Hilton was author of Be My Guest (1957) and Inspirations of an Innkeeper (1963).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Hilton,Conrad Nicholson — Hil·ton (hĭlʹtən), Conrad Nicholson. 1887 1979. American hotel chain organizer who acquired hotels in many American cities and in 1946 founded the Hilton Hotel Corporation. * * * …   Universalium

  • Hilton, Conrad (Nicholson) — born Dec. 25, 1887, San Antonio, N.M., U.S. died Jan. 3, 1979, Santa Monica, Calif. U.S. businessman, founder of one of the world s largest hotel organizations. As a boy he helped his father turn the family s adobe house into an inn for traveling …   Universalium

  • Hilton, Conrad (Nicholson) — (25 dic. 1887, San Antonio, N.M, EE.UU.–3 ene. 1979, Santa Mónica, Cal.). Hombre de negocios estadounidense, fundador de una de las organizaciones hoteleras más grandes del mundo. En su infancia ayudó a su padre a transformar la… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Conrad Hilton — Nombre …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hilton Worldwide — Type Private Industry Hospitality, Hotels Founded Cisco, Texas (1919) …   Wikipedia

  • Conrad Hilton — Conrad Nicholson Hilton (* 25. Dezember 1887 in San Antonio, New Mexico; † 3. Januar 1979 in Santa Monica, Kalifornien) war ein bekannter Hotelier. Er war der Sohn eines Norwegers, Augustus Halvorsen Hilton, und einer deutschstämmigen Norwegerin …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Conrad hilton — Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Senior (25 décembre 1887, Comté de Socorro, Nouveau Mexique, États Unis 3 janvier 1979, Santa Monica, Californie) est un hôtelier américain fondateur de la chaîne des hôtels Hilton. L un de ses enfants, Conrad Nicholson… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Conrad — Conrad, Joseph Conrad, discontinuidad de * * * (as used in expressions) Aiken, Conrad (Potter) Conrad, Joseph Hilton, Conrad (Nicholson) Hötzendorf, Conrad Franz (Xaver Josef), conde von Richter, Conrad (Michael) Roentgen, Wilhelm Conrad Taeuber …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Conrad Hilton — This article is about Conrad Hilton, Sr. For his son, see Conrad Hilton, Jr. Conrad Nicholson Hilton Born December 25, 1887(1887 12 25) Socorro County, New Mexico Territory …   Wikipedia

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