Kemmons Wilson

Around 1941-42, Charles got married to his childhood sweetheart, Dorothy Lee, and the two were blessed with three sons, Spence, Kemmons Jr., Robert, as well as two daughters, Carole and Betty. Dorothy passed away after 59 years of a happy marriage, leaving behind her children and husband.

Wilson died at the age of 90, at his Memphis home on February 12, 2003. The great entrepreneur was buried at a cemetery in Forest Hill.

In order to recognize this brilliant entrepreneur's contribution to the field of business, the 'University of Memphis' named one of its institutes as 'Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management'.

Charles Kemmons Wilson was born to insurance executive, Kemmons and his wife, Ruby Hall, on January 5, 1913. When the lad was only nine months old, his father passed away and Ruby had to take full responsibility of her child, bringing him up in Memphis, Tennessee.

Wilson did his best to contribute to his family income, by selling popcorn, magazines, grocery and various other means. He studied at the 'Central High School', but quit when his mother became unemployed, owing to the infamous global economic crisis, known as the 'Great Depression'.

To support his mother, Charles began his career as a businessman and managed an ice cream shop, a cigar store, as well as a sandwich stall. Soon, he saved enough money to buy the 'DeSoto Theatre', a movie hall in Memphis that had run out of business earlier. He eventually owned eleven theatres across different cities, some of these were built by this businessman himself.

In 1951, on a family vacation to Washington D.C., Wilson was quite disappointed with the accommodation he was provided. This gave him the idea of starting a new business of running motels, for which he joined hands with Wallace E. Johnson as and Eddie Bluestein, who helped him in the investment and architecture aspects respectively.

The first of the 'Holiday Inn' chain of motels, located on Summer Avenue, enroute to Memphis, was inaugurated in 1952. He did not leave any stone unturned and built more motels, with his numbers reaching up to 100 within the next seven years.

The hotels had certain characteristics, with the quality, cleanliness, and accessibility being top priority. Also, the partners, Wallace and Wilson were particular about keeping a Bible in each room.

Wilson is known as the founder of the 'Holiday Inn', a hotel chain known for being family-friendly with a strong emphasis on quality and service. The chain of hotels became the first ever to generate revenue of $1 billion dollars in the year 1972, with more than 1400 branches across the world.