Selfridge, Harry Gordon

Selfridge, Harry Gordon

▪ British merchant

born Jan. 11, 1858, Ripon, Wis., U.S.
died May 8, 1947, London, Eng.
 founder of Selfridges department store in London.

      The son of a small storekeeper in Wisconsin, Selfridge at age 21 joined the wholesale-retail firm of Field, Leiter and Company (later Marshall Field and Company) in Chicago, where he worked for 25 years and became a junior partner. In 1906 he went to England with a fortune and began to build a large department store in Oxford Street, London. When his partner withdrew, Selfridge obtained support from a wealthy tea broker, and in 1908 Selfridge and Company, Ltd., was registered (with £900,000 capital) to complete the project. The store opened in 1909 with a floor area of 42,000 square feet, which later was doubled.

      Imaginative advertising, ingenious publicity, and novel interior arrangements immediately made Selfridges a household word, and in 1937 its owner became a British citizen. By 1939, however, he had lost his touch as a businessman, and because of his personal extravagance the banks caused him to be replaced.

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  • Gordon Selfridge — Harry Gordon Selfridge (* 11. Januar 1858 in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA; † 8. Mai 1947 in London, Großbritannien) war ein US amerikanischer Kaufmann. Er arbeitete für den Einzelhändler Marshall Field in Chicago und führte Neuerungen wie jährliche… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henry Gordon Selfridge — Harry Gordon Selfridge (* 11. Januar 1858 in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA; † 8. Mai 1947 in London, Großbritannien) war ein US amerikanischer Kaufmann. Er arbeitete für den Einzelhändler Marshall Field in Chicago und führte Neuerungen wie jährliche… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Selfridge — /sel frij/, n. Harry Gordon, 1857? 1947, British retail merchant, born in the U.S. * * * …   Universalium

  • Selfridge — /sel frij/, n. Harry Gordon, 1857? 1947, British retail merchant, born in the U.S …   Useful english dictionary

  • Oliver Selfridge — Oliver Gordon Selfridge (May 10, 1926 December 3, 2008), grandson of Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges department stores, was a pioneer of artificial intelligence. He has been called the Father of Machine Perception. [citation… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Gordon — may refer to: *Henry Gordon (preacher), American preacher *Henry C. Gordon, American astronaut *C. Henry Gordon, American film actor *Harry GordonAs given names*Henry Gordon Bennett *Henry Gordon McMorran *Henry Gordon Rice *Henry Gordon Wells… …   Wikipedia

  • Selfridges — Infobox Company company name = Selfridges Co company company type = Private genre = Department Store foundation = 1909 founder = Harry Gordon Selfridge location city = London location country = England location = origins = key people = area… …   Wikipedia

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