Business Leaders

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Portrait white man in suit and bow tie with mustache
Simon Adler (1832–1904)
Simon Adler, born in Bavaria in 1832 (according to his tombstone), was one of the first Jewish immigrants to s...
Edwin Boyd Alderson Jr. (1940–2017)
Edwin Alderson Jr. became a prominent lawyer, jurist, and businessman in Arkansas in the late twentieth centur...
African-American man in suit with his hand held up to his chin
Gerald Byron Alley (1952–)
Gerald Byron Alley is the founder of Con-Real, LP, which is the leading black-owned construction and real esta...
"Andrews Lure Co." flyer with lures and prices for each
Glen Andrews (1931–)
Glen Daniel Andrews Sr. is considered one of the all-time great professional bass anglers. Bobby Murray, two-t...
Older white man in tuxedo standing and smiling with group of white women in hallway
Mary Ann Ritter Arnold (1927–2017)
Mary Ann Ritter Arnold became president of E. Ritter & Company, one of the most successful family-owned bu...
Portrait painting of white man formal dress with pocket watch chain
Chester Ashley (1791–1848)
Chester Ashley was prominent in territorial and antebellum Arkansas. He was involved in the dispute over owner...
O. C. Bailey (1894–1967)
aka: Olin Cavanaugh Bailey
Olin Cavanaugh Bailey of El Dorado (Union County) was a leader in t...
White man with thinning hair wearing small round glasses dressed in suit and diamond shaped pin attached to a tie
Aloysius Burton Banks (1868–1953)
aka: A. B. Banks
Little Rock (Pulaski County) native Aloysius Burton Banks became de...
White man with mustache in jacket and shirt
Jacob Barkman (1784–1852)
Jacob Barkman is known as the father of Clark County. An early settler along the Caddo River, Barkman eventual...
Three-story house with covered porch supported by columns on street corner
Fred Wallace Bartell (1872–1958)
Frederick Wallace Bartell was a Siloam Springs (Benton County) merchant, church leader, and Circuit Chautauqua...
E. M. Bartlett (1883–1941)
aka: Eugene Monroe Bartlett Sr.
With the exception of his protégé, Albert E. Brumley, no other Ar...
Older white man wearing glasses in suit and tie signing a piece of paper with a pencil
Thomas Harry Barton (1881–1960)
Colonel Thomas H. Barton, a pioneer El Dorado (Union County) oilman and philanthropist, launched his small Lio...
White man with long beard in suit
George Franklin Baucum (1837–1905)
George F. Baucum was a Confederate officer and a Little Rock (Pulaski County) businessman. He served in many m...
Busy streets and gas station with buildings in the background and railroad tracks in the foreground
Roswell Beebe (1795–1856)
Roswell Beebe was the first benefactor of the city of Little Rock (Pulaski County); the town of Beebe (White C...
Mural featuring a white man's face and three cartoon chipmunks.
Alvin Silas (Al) Bennett (1926–1989)
Alvin Silas (Al) Bennett was a recording industry executive best known for his tenure as president and directo...
Corner view of multistory red brick building
Adolph Bertig (1853–1926)
Adolph Bertig, a Jewish immigrant, was one of the leading merchants and financiers in northeastern Arkansas an...
Iron sign text "Sylvanus Blackburn came to the War Eagle in 1832. By 1838 he had a saw mill
Sylvanus Blackburn (1809–1890)
Sylvanus Walker Blackburn is noted for building the first gristmill in Benton County, locating his mill on War...
White man with mustache and sideburns in suit and bow tie
Gustave (Gus) Blass (1849–1919)
Gus Blass was a Jewish immigrant who settled in Arkansas and became one of the state’s most successful merch...
Old white man in suit with white shirt
Abraham Block (1780?–1857)
aka: Abraham Bloch
Abraham Block was the patriarch of the first documented Jewish fami...
African-American man with mustache in suit and tie
Josiah Homer Blount (1860–1938)
Josiah Homer Blount was a successful African American businessman who, in 1920, became the first Black per...
African-American man with mustache in suit and tie
Scott Winfield Bond (1852–1933)
Scott Winfield Bond was a successful landowner, farmer, and businessman at a time when the total number of Afr...
Young African-American boy in suit sitting in chair
Ulysses Simpson (U. S.) Bond (1897–1967)
Prominent businessman and entrepreneur Ulysses Simpson (U. S.) Bond, like his father and brothers, was a membe...
Older white man in striped suit and tie
William Harvey Bowen (1923–2014)
William Harvey Bowen was a senior partner in Arkansas’s largest law firm, president of the state’s largest...
Tall multistory building on city street corner with horse-drawn carriages and people
John Boyle (1874–1938)
John F. Boyle Jr. was a Little Rock (Pulaski County) businessman and philanthropist whose name survives in the...
White man waving from bed of pickup truck with "Senator Jay Bradford" sign on its door
Jay T. Bradford (1940–)
Jay Bradford is an Arkansas businessman and government official. A longtime member of the Arkansas General Ass...
red stripes next to blue and black print "Doug Brandon Congress" with photo of white man in corner
Benton Douglas Brandon Jr. (1932–1992)
Benton Douglas Brandon Jr. was a legislator, businessman, and civic leader who brought a business presence int...
Jacob Brown (1789–1846)
Jacob Brown was an important but often overlooked figure in Arkansas’s territorial and early statehood perio...
"Mister investor the one big investment opportunity is now within your grasp" newspaper clipping
Samuel Thompson Busey (1867–1962)
Samuel Thompson Busey was a 1920s oil speculator and promoter of the Arkansas oil industry. While originally t...
Older African-American man in suit and bow tie
John Bush (1856–1916)
John Edward Bush, a chairman of the Republican Party in Arkansas, rose from poverty to national prominence whe...
White man in suit and glasses sitting at desk
William Wilson Campbell (1889–1970)
William Wilson Campbell of Forrest City (St. Francis County) was a banker known nationally for his expertise i...
White man in suit and tie with curtains behind him
Jack Carnes (1896–1958)
aka: Samuel Jacob Carnes
Samuel Jacob (Jack) Carnes was the founder and owner of Camark Pott...
Charles Cella (1936–2017)
Charles Cella is best known among American racing enthusiasts as part of the third generation to head the Cell...