February 12, 2003

Charles Kemmons Wilson, founder of the Holiday Inn hotel chain, died at his Memphis, Tennessee, home. Born in Osceola (Mississippi County) and called the “Father of the Modern Hotel,” he revolutionized the travel industry by providing affordable, comfortable, dependable lodging. Among his accolades are the Horatio Alger Award (1970) and induction into the National Business Hall of Fame (1982). He left a living legacy with the creation of the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management at the University of Memphis, with the first students admitted in August 2002.