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John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838 – December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". [1] He served as United States Postmaster General in the Benjamin Harrison administration from 1889 to 1893.
- Sandy Hingston
- John Wanamaker was born in what is now known as Grays Ferry in Philadelphia on July 11, 1838, son of Nelson and Elizabeth Wanamaker. Nelson, who worked with his own father as a brick maker, followed his dad to Indiana in 1850 after Philly’s larger brick makers undercut their business.
- Business wasn’t any better out west, so Nelson and the family moved back to Philly in 1851. John, then 14, took a job at the Troutman and Haye s bookstore for $1.25 a week, then moved after a year to work at Barclay Lippincott clothing store for double the pay.
- When Wanamaker returned to Philly in 1858, at age 20, he took a job as the first full-time paid secretary of the local Young Men’s Christian Association, for the hefty salary of $1,000 a year.
- In 1859, the devoutly religious Wanamaker founded Bethany Sunday School in a rented room at 2135 South Street. Neighbors objected to the mission, and on the first day of school, Wanamaker, two teachers and all 27 students were driven from the building by their unruly rioting.
Jul 6, 2024 · John Wanamaker (born July 11, 1838, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died Dec. 12, 1922, Philadelphia) was a merchant and founder of one of the first American department stores. Wanamaker began work at age 14 as an errand boy for a bookstore and served as secretary of the Philadelphia YMCA from 1857 to 1861. In 1861 he established with Nathan Brown ...
The logo, patterned after John Wanamaker's signature John Wanamaker, who founded the store chain in 1861 John Wanamaker's on Market Street in 1876 The Grand Court in the Wanamaker Store in Philadelphia, showing the organ façade at the south end in 1917 The flagship store directory. John Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1838.
Uncover the life and legacy of John Wanamaker, the visionary who revolutionized retail in America. From the grandeur of his pioneering department store to th...
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Feb 5, 2019 · John Wanamaker was born into a family with a very different line of work than retail: Both his father and grandfather made bricks. As a young man, he worked in a dry goods store and later for ...
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John Wanamaker and Company1875–1922. Wanamaker thought his “new kind of store,” which was a consolidation of many different kinds of shops into one, was the future of shopping. Not only did his department stores become very successful, they were also part of a merchandising revolution that steered people away from the general store.
