John Augustine Hartford
Encyclopedia
John Augustine Hartford (February 10, 1872 – September 20, 1951) was an executive with the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company ("A&P") and ran the company with his brother George Ludlum Hartford
after the death of their father, George Huntington Hartford
. Hartford ran the business operations side of the empire, while his brother George ran the financial side. . Time Magazine interviewed John and his brother George who were on their cover in November 1950. Time wrote that next to General Motors A&P sold more goods than any other company in the world and A&P stores reached a peak of 15,737 stores nationwide by the 1930s and was a monopoly at the time. Time wrote "going to the A&P was almost a American Tribal rite".
and one of three sons of the supermarket founder. John A. joined the business as a boy in 1888 and remained at the business as President until his own death. His brother Edward Hartford was not involved in the family business, but his son (John's nephew) George Huntington Hartford II
would become heir to the business following the deaths of his uncles.
John A. created The John A. Hartford Foundation in 1929 in New York City
with focus on improving health care for older Americans.
He died of a heart attack in an elevator at the Chrysler Building after attending a Chrysler board meeting.
Across America Newspaper editorials eulogized John Hartford. The San Francisco Call-Bulletin wrote "John A. Hartford belonged to a little group of Americans whose energy and vision made us the most prosperous nation in the world. He pioneered in foodstuffs just as Henry Ford did in Transportation. Their philosophy was blunt and simple, just as most works of genius are simple, sell more for less." The Columbus Georgia Ledger wrote "What Ford meant to transportation, what Edison meant to electricity, what Burbank meant to Horticulture, John Hartford meant to Food Retailing in America." The Davenport Daily Times wrote "In the death of Mr. John there passes a Retail Napoleon. He had a Grocery Empire as Ford had a Automobile Empire, Rockefeller an Oil Empire, Carnegie a Steel Empire. We shall not see their like again."
George Ludlum Hartford
George Ludlum Hartford was an executive with the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and successor to his father, George Huntington Hartford with brother John Augustine Hartford...
after the death of their father, George Huntington Hartford
George Huntington Hartford
George Huntington Hartford founded The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company in 1859 with George Gilman in Elmira, New York.He was born in Augusta, Maine...
. Hartford ran the business operations side of the empire, while his brother George ran the financial side. . Time Magazine interviewed John and his brother George who were on their cover in November 1950. Time wrote that next to General Motors A&P sold more goods than any other company in the world and A&P stores reached a peak of 15,737 stores nationwide by the 1930s and was a monopoly at the time. Time wrote "going to the A&P was almost a American Tribal rite".
Biography
Hartford was born in Orange, New JerseyOrange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...
and one of three sons of the supermarket founder. John A. joined the business as a boy in 1888 and remained at the business as President until his own death. His brother Edward Hartford was not involved in the family business, but his son (John's nephew) George Huntington Hartford II
Huntington Hartford
George Huntington Hartford II was an American businessman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and art collector. The heir to the A&P supermarket fortune, he owned Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and had numerous other business and real estate interests over his lifetime including the Oil Shale Corporation...
would become heir to the business following the deaths of his uncles.
John A. created The John A. Hartford Foundation in 1929 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with focus on improving health care for older Americans.
He died of a heart attack in an elevator at the Chrysler Building after attending a Chrysler board meeting.
Across America Newspaper editorials eulogized John Hartford. The San Francisco Call-Bulletin wrote "John A. Hartford belonged to a little group of Americans whose energy and vision made us the most prosperous nation in the world. He pioneered in foodstuffs just as Henry Ford did in Transportation. Their philosophy was blunt and simple, just as most works of genius are simple, sell more for less." The Columbus Georgia Ledger wrote "What Ford meant to transportation, what Edison meant to electricity, what Burbank meant to Horticulture, John Hartford meant to Food Retailing in America." The Davenport Daily Times wrote "In the death of Mr. John there passes a Retail Napoleon. He had a Grocery Empire as Ford had a Automobile Empire, Rockefeller an Oil Empire, Carnegie a Steel Empire. We shall not see their like again."