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Dana Crawford

Added by yongli on 01/25/2021 - 17:21, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 02:40
Dana Crawford (1931–) is a nationally prominent preservationist and developer who exemplifies how one woman can transform a city. She started with Larimer Square and then Lower Downtown (LoDo), the hubs of Denver ’s skid row, and helped turn them into one of America’s most popular and dynamic urban...

Adolph Coors

Added by yongli on 02/03/2017 - 21:43, last changed on 06/23/2019 - 01:07

Adolph Coors, c. 1900

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Adolph Coors (1847–1929) immigrated to the United States in 1868 after serving as a brewery apprentice in western Germany and then in the Kingdom of Prussia. After working in Chicago breweries, he moved to Colorado in 1872 and purchased a bottling company. He transformed it into the Coors Brewing...

August Meyer

Added by yongli on 03/13/2020 - 14:42, last changed on 03/13/2020 - 14:42
August Robert Meyer (1851–1905) was a mining engineer who played a central role in starting Leadville ’s silver boom in the late 1870s. Meyer recognized the value of the area’s lead carbonate ores, built a smelter , developed local infrastructure, and helped organize the new city. After leaving...

Augusta Tabor

Added by yongli on 01/16/2020 - 13:57, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 13:54
Augusta Tabor (1833–95), born Augusta Louise Pierce, came to Colorado with her husband Horace and young son during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1858–59. As an astute businesswoman and careful money manager, she helped her husband become one of the country’s wealthiest men in the late nineteenth...

Baron Walter von Richthofen

Added by yongli on 07/08/2020 - 16:07, last changed on 10/18/2022 - 08:51
Baron von Richthofen (1859–98) was a flamboyant, versatile booster and developer who came to Colorado in 1878; he was one of many Germans who constituted the state’s largest foreign-born contingent between 1880 and 1910. Richthofen invested in Denver real estate, helped establish the suburban town...

Bulkeley Wells

Added by yongli on 06/15/2021 - 16:19, last changed on 08/18/2022 - 07:12
Bulkeley Wells (1872–1931) was an influential mining investor and hydroelectric engineer best known for building the Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Power Plant near Telluride and for his hostility toward unions. A controversial figure in Colorado history, Wells carried on an affair with Louise Sneed...

Caroline Bancroft

Added by yongli on 05/13/2016 - 16:32, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 02:50
Caroline Bancroft (1900–85) was a prominent author, journalist, organizer, and socialite in twentieth-century Denver. Bancroft’s extensive writings on Colorado’s local history established the importance of the genre and served as an example for generations of historians who followed in her...

Charles Boettcher

Added by yongli on 06/29/2021 - 15:46, last changed on 06/29/2021 - 15:46
Charles Boettcher (1852–1948) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for founding the Great Western Sugar Company and the Boettcher Foundation, an organization that made the Boettcher name synonymous with generosity in Colorado. Boettcher built his wealth through a series of sound...

Chin Lin Sou

Added by yongli on 02/16/2021 - 13:54, last changed on 08/27/2022 - 08:20
Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) defied racial barriers to establish himself as an esteemed business and civic leader in Colorado. Not only do historians recognize Chin and his wife as the first Chinese American family in Colorado, but Chin and his descendants also established a positive...

Crawford Hill

Added by yongli on 06/15/2021 - 17:31, last changed on 06/29/2021 - 12:45
Crawford Hill (1862–1922) was a successful Denver businessman and philanthropist. The firstborn child and only son of Alice and Nathaniel P. Hill , Crawford inherited their fortune and carried his father’s prosperous businesses into the next generation. A quiet, conservative man, dedicated...

David H. Moffat

Added by yongli on 01/30/2017 - 11:14, last changed on 11/15/2022 - 11:42
David Halliday Moffat (1839–1911) left a lasting impression on Colorado from his involvement in many industries, including banking, mining , and railroads. Through his civic involvement in Denver , Moffat helped the city develop financially and industrially. His most significant contribution to...

Elizabeth Iliff Warren

Added by yongli on 06/10/2020 - 13:36, last changed on 08/11/2022 - 16:09
Elizabeth Fraser Iliff Warren (1844–1920) was one of Denver ’s most influential early citizens and was instrumental in founding the Iliff School of Theology . After arriving in Denver in 1869 as a twenty-four-year-old sewing-machine saleswoman, she married wealthy cattleman John Wesley Iliff . When...

Emily Elizabeth Wilson

Added by yongli on 08/30/2016 - 12:37, last changed on 09/30/2022 - 01:43
Emily Elizabeth “Emmy” Wilson (1902–63) was a well-known Colorado business owner, entrepreneur, and socialite who ran the Glory Hole Tavern, a popular establishment in Central City . Wilson and her tavern played an integral role in reviving the ex- mining town’s social and cultural scene, and for...

Fannie Mae Duncan

Added by yongli on 01/16/2020 - 16:05, last changed on 11/09/2022 - 08:42
Fannie Mae Duncan (1918–2005) was an entrepreneur and an activist for racial equality at a time of segregation in Colorado Springs . From 1947 to 1975, she owned and operated a series of businesses including the Cotton Club, the city’s first racially integrated nightclub, which hosted jazz greats...

Frank P. Marugg

Added by yongli on 08/31/2016 - 11:28, last changed on 11/07/2019 - 12:26
Frank Marugg (1887–1973) was an inventor who developed the “Denver Boot,” a device that immobilizes a vehicle for ticketing purposes. Despite a lifetime of pursuits in various other industries, the boot remains the most notable achievement of Marugg’s professional career. Still, his life story...

Gary Hart

Added by yongli on 09/13/2017 - 15:13, last changed on 10/05/2018 - 01:07
Gary Hart (1936 –) is a former US Senator from Colorado, serving from 1975 to 1987, and two-time presidential hopeful who became embroiled in one of the first modern political sex scandals. The so-called “Monkey Business” scandal set the tone for future media coverage of politicians’ personal lives...

Gray Goose Airways

Added by yongli on 08/31/2016 - 13:31, last changed on 08/25/2017 - 20:47
Denver’s history is full of innovation and success associated with the emergence of air travel, but perhaps just as many ventures failed. Though Gray Goose Airways was ultimately unsuccessful, founder Jonathan Edward Caldwell was doggedly persistent in its development and displayed an unwavering...

Helen G. Bonfils

Added by yongli on 09/14/2020 - 16:28, last changed on 10/18/2022 - 13:43
Helen Gilmer Bonfils (1889–1972) was a well-known Colorado actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is best known as manager of The Denver Post and for her contributions to the theater in Colorado through her time as an actress, producer, and later benefactress of the Helen G. Bonfils...

Henry Teller

Added by yongli on 08/12/2016 - 14:09, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 05:48
Henry Moore Teller (1830–1914) was a successful Colorado businessman, lawyer, and politician. His business and legal interests, which included mining and helping to organize the Colorado Central Railroad , were surpassed only by his political achievements. Teller served five full terms as US...

John Evans

Added by yongli on 01/16/2020 - 15:22, last changed on 11/15/2022 - 09:39
John Evans (1814–97) served as second governor of Colorado Territory , from 1862 to 1865. His role in precipitating the massacre of peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians at Sand Creek in November 1864 forced him to resign. A doctor and Methodist minister who helped found Northwestern University in...

John Hickenlooper

Added by yongli on 06/09/2020 - 17:15, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 08:47
John Wright Hickenlooper II (1952– ) is a Colorado businessman and politician who served as mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011 and forty-third governor of the state from 2011 to 2019. In 2020 Hickenlooper was elected to the US Senate. In 1988 he founded Wynkoop Brewing Company , Denver’s first...

Josephine Roche

Added by yongli on 03/31/2017 - 14:56, last changed on 11/09/2022 - 17:42
Josephine Aspinwall Roche (1886–1976) was a Colorado industrialist, labor advocate, and politician known for her role in reforming the Colorado coal industry in the 1930s. The daughter of a wealthy coal baron, Roche improved miners’ working conditions and pay when she took over the Rocky Mountain...

Kate Ferretti

Added by yongli on 10/25/2021 - 15:03, last changed on 11/01/2021 - 08:27
Henrietta “Kate” Malnati Ferretti (1891–1987) was an early twentieth-century entrepreneur who established a successful millinery business in Denver . A first-generation Italian American, Ferretti founded her business in Denver’s Little Italy and catered to some of the city’s most elite clientele...

Lena Stoiber

Added by yongli on 10/28/2021 - 11:36, last changed on 08/26/2022 - 19:52
Lena Alma Allen Webster Stoiber Rood Ellis (1862–1935) was the “Bonanza Queen” of Silverton . Known as “Captain Jack” or “Jack Pants” to the miners who worked for her, she was a tough boss who worked in conjunction with her second husband, Edward G. Stoiber, at the Silver Lake Mine. He managed the...

Mary Hauck Elitch Long

Added by yongli on 06/18/2021 - 14:53, last changed on 06/18/2021 - 14:53
Mary Hauck Elitch Long (1856–1936) was the first woman in the world to own and operate a zoo, located at Elitch Gardens in Denver . She and her husband, John Elitch, Jr. , opened the attraction in 1890, and after his death in 1891, Mary continued on as a pioneering businesswoman and entrepreneur...

Max Goldberg

Added by yongli on 08/15/2016 - 16:08, last changed on 11/04/2019 - 11:41
Max Goldberg (1911–72) was a pioneer of early television broadcasting and a television personality in the 1950s and 1960s. Goldberg worked to promote the growth of television in Denver , and his weekly talk show On the Spot set the stage for television’s early success in the local market. Today,...

Nathaniel P. Hill

Added by yongli on 01/15/2020 - 16:02, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 06:40
Nathaniel Peter Hill (1832–1900) was a mining entrepreneur and US senator from Colorado. In the 1860s, Hill, an accomplished chemist and metallurgist, bought mining interests in Black Hawk and developed the first successful smelter in Colorado, revolutionizing the mining industry in the fledgling...

Otto Mears

Added by yongli on 01/16/2020 - 16:13, last changed on 11/12/2022 - 10:10
Otto Mears (1840–1931) was a Colorado businessman who played a key role in the removal of the Nuche ( Ute ) people and is best known for building more than 450 miles of toll roads and railroads on the Utes’ former lands in the southern and southwestern parts of the state. Called the “Pathfinder of...

Painter Family

Added by yongli on 01/23/2017 - 11:00, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 05:48
The Painter was a prosperous ranching family in Colorado during the early 1900s. Even though ranching went into universal decline following a brutal winter in 1886, the Painter family remained successful due to equal parts luck, persistence, and scientific management of their cattle herds. They...

Philip Anschutz

Added by yongli on 01/21/2021 - 16:28, last changed on 11/01/2022 - 20:41
Philip Anschutz (1939–) is a Denver -based businessman and Colorado’s richest person, with a wealth estimated at more than $10 billion. He has garnered comparisons to Gilded Age financier J. P. Morgan for his success across a wide range of businesses—oil and gas, railroads , telecommunications,...

Stan Kroenke

Added by yongli on 02/16/2021 - 13:48, last changed on 11/01/2022 - 23:42
Stan Kroenke (1947–) is a Missouri-based billionaire whose extensive portfolio of real estate and sports franchises includes Denver ’s Nuggets (basketball), Avalanche (hockey), Rapids (soccer), and Mammoth (lacrosse), as well as Ball Arena , Dick ’ s Sporting Goods Park , and the Altitude Sports...

Verner Zevola Reed

Added by yongli on 04/27/2017 - 12:46, last changed on 10/03/2022 - 04:43
Verner Zevola Reed (1863–1919) was one of Colorado’s most successful businessmen, playing a central role in the development of mining operations during the Cripple Creek Gold Rush and for the US oil industry. Early Life and Business Ventures Born in 1863 on an Ohio farm,...

Walter Paepcke

Added by yongli on 11/16/2015 - 12:59, last changed on 10/26/2022 - 19:41
Walter P. Paepcke, a Chicago businessman, was pivotal in developing Aspen into a resort known for its exceptional skiing and as a hub for intellectuals, artists, politicians, and celebrities. Paepcke’s efforts have made Aspen stand out among Colorado’s many ski towns and resorts. Born...

William A.H. Loveland

Added by yongli on 01/15/2020 - 15:14, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 22:39
William Austin Hamilton Loveland (1826–94) was a leading businessman, railroad executive, and politician in early Colorado. A well-traveled man by early adulthood, Loveland arrived in Colorado during the Colorado Gold Rush . He played a critical role in the development of Golden , putting up the...

William Gray Evans

Added by yongli on 05/18/2022 - 09:59, last changed on 11/12/2022 - 18:57
William Gray Evans (1855–1924) was a Denver businessman best known as the Denver Tramway Company president. The son of Territorial Governor John Evans , he was involved in many of Denver’s early foundational enterprises and played an integral role in constructing the Moffat Tunnel . During the...

William H. Dickens

Added by yongli on 12/06/2017 - 13:51, last changed on 11/11/2019 - 11:48
William Henry Dickens (c. 1842–1915) was a homestead er , farmer, and businessman in the St. Vrain valley. A prominent early citizen of Longmont , Dickens built the Dickens Opera House , established Farmers National Bank, and helped organize the Farmers Milling and Elevator Company, among other...

William Jackson Palmer

Added by yongli on 08/01/2016 - 13:33, last changed on 11/12/2022 - 08:43
William Jackson Palmer (1836–1909) was a military general, railroad tycoon, and founder of Colorado Springs . Though a Quaker from Delaware, Palmer fought for the Union Army during the Civil War . After the war, he moved west and became a civil engineer and philanthropist who played an integral...

William Larimer, Jr.

Added by yongli on 05/18/2016 - 15:35, last changed on 11/02/2022 - 05:48
General William Larimer, Jr. (1809–75), was a prominent nineteenth-century town promoter, prospector, and legislator in the Kansas and Colorado Territories. He is known for establishing the city of Denver . Larimer’s life serves as an example of the pitfalls of conducting business in the American...

William N. Byers

Added by yongli on 01/16/2020 - 15:27, last changed on 11/16/2022 - 08:40
William Newton Byers (1831–1903) founded the first newspaper in Colorado, the Rocky Mountain News (1859–2009) and was Denver ’s biggest booster during the city’s early days. Byers used his newspaper as a platform for his advocacy, as his knowledge of the territory allowed him to broker land deals...

William “Cement Bill” Williams

Added by yongli on 08/15/2016 - 15:55, last changed on 02/12/2021 - 01:07
William “Cement Bill” Williams (1868–1945) was a prominent contractor, political agitator, and personality in Golden during the early 1900s. Williams’s tireless campaigning brought crucial road construction to Golden, much of which he built himself. Today, Williams’s legacy as a businessman and the...
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