Charles r walgreens sr biography samples

American businessman and founder of Walgreens

For his son, see Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr.

Charles Rudolph Walgreen (October 9, 1873 – December 11, 1939) was an American businessman and the founder of Walgreens.

Background

He was born on a farm near Galesburg, Illinois before moving to Dixon, Illinois, in 1887.^[2] He was the son of Swedish immigrants.

In the 1790s, Charles's great-great-great-grandfather, Sven Olofsson, adopted the surname Wahlgren (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈvɑ̂ːlɡreːn])^{[citation needed]} during his military service, a family fact passed down over the generations.

When Charles's father, Carl Magnus Olofsson, came to America from Sweden, he decided to change the family name to Walgreen.^[3] When Charles was still quite young he and his family relocated to Dixon, Illinois, in 1887.

He attended Dixon High School, Dixon Business College. He was a member of the international fraternity T