Background
William Wallace Cargill was born on December 15, 1844, in Portuguese Jefferson, New New York His mother Edna Davis was a native of New New York
William Wallace Cargill was born on December 15, 1844, in Portuguese Jefferson, New New York His mother Edna Davis was a native of New New York
In 1865 he founded Cargill, which by 2008 was the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue, employing over 150,000 people in 68 countries. He was the third of seven children of Scottish sea captain William Dick Cargill who had emigrated to New York in the late 1830s. In 1856 Cargill"s parents relocated to Janesville, Wisconsin to pursue an agricultural life.
In 1865, William West. Cargill founded Cargill Incorporated. as a small grain storage company in Conover, Iowa.
In 1875, another younger brother, James F. Cargill, joined the company. In 1904, Cargill suffered from a stroke which prompted his retirement from most day-to-day work in the company.
In October 1909 Cargill became ill during a trip to Montana. He returned home and was treated but died of pneumonia on October 17, 1909.