Acey Gaspard

Charles Elmer Hires began in the pharmacy trade before building a business around root-beer preparations. His story follows the rise of Hires Root Beer, a major condensed-milk enterprise, and a brand that continued after his death.

Daniel Gerber helped commercialize his family’s strained baby foods in 1928 and later became president of Gerber Products Company. His life connects a Michigan cannery, Dorothy Gerber’s practical idea, and the growth of a leading baby-food business.

David Geffen helped shape recorded music, then joined Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg to establish DreamWorks. This biography follows the shifts in his entertainment work and the educational and artistic institutions supported by his philanthropy.

Alonzo G. Decker was a tool-and-die maker who built Black & Decker with S. Duncan Black. Their influential portable-drill design was followed by industrial expansion, serious financial hardship, and a move into household power tools.

Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck moved into franchising in 1974 after building 16 shops. This biography explains the strategy, the people behind Subway’s expansion, and why more locations did not guarantee stronger sales.

Arthur Calbraith Dorrance succeeded his brother as Campbell Soup president in 1930. His biography follows his rise through management and a sixteen-year presidency marked by wider markets, new advertising, popular soups and factory labor disputes.

Eldridge Reeves Johnson went from running a Camden machine shop to leading the Victor Talking Machine Company. His biography follows the invention, collaboration, commercial growth, and cultural and scientific projects that marked his life.

Elizabeth Arden developed a distinctive red-door salon identity, expanded her cosmetics business across borders, and brought beauty and fitness together at Maine Chance. Her legacy extends beyond the business she personally controlled.