The world’s largest chain of convenience stores originated in
1927 when Southland Ice Company employee John Jefferson
Green began selling basics like eggs and bread on a stand in
front of one of the firm’s ice houses in Dallas,Texas. Company
chairman Joe C Thompson loved the concept and opened
several locations in Texas. The chain’s name was changed to
Tot’em Stores then 7-Eleven in 1946 to reflect its long opening
hours.

Although a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings
since 1973, 7-Eleven is headquartered in Dallas,Texas.

Joe C. Thompson, Sr. (1901–1961)

Powel Crosley Jr.
(September 18, 1886 – March 28, 1961)

Crosley made his fortune in the automotive
parts and accessories business, before
diversifying into manufacturing other
consumer products and Crosley cars in
the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1925 his company became the largest
manufacturer of radios in the world.

The Smithsonian Institution is a group of museums, education
and research centers, the largest such complex in the world,
created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge”.  Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a
trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the
three branches of the federal government. The institution is
named after its founding donor, British scientist James
Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States
National Museum, but that name ceased to exist in 1967.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

James Smithson  (c. 1765 – 27 June 1829)

1962

Pizza Hut is a pizza franchise that was founded on May 31, 1958,
in Wichita, Kansas. The first franchise unit opened in Topeka,
Kansas in 1959^. PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut in November 1977
and spun it off, along with Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken,
into a new company named Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. on
May 30, 1997. The company assumed the name of Yum! Brands
on May 22, 2002. 

On July 16, 1995, Amazon officially opened for business as
an online bookseller. Within a month, the fledgling retailer
had shipped books to all 50 U.S. states and to 45 countries.

Founder Jeff Bezos’s motto was “get big fast,” and Seattle-
based Amazon eventually morphed into an e-commerce
colossus, selling everything from groceries to furniture to
live ladybugs, and helping to revolutionize the way people
shop.

Jeffrey Preston Bezos, the founder, executive chairman,
and former president and CEO of Amazon.