General Robert E. Wood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Robert Elkington Wood |
| Born | (1879-06-13)June 13, 1879 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | November 6, 1969(1969-11-06) (aged 90) Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1900–1915 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Honour-Chevalier (France) Order of St Michael and St George (Great Britain) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Other work | Business executive |
| Signature | .png) |
Robert Elkington Wood (June 13, 1879 – November 6, 1969) was an American military officer and business executive. After retiring from the U.S. Army as abrigadier general, Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive, most notably withSears, Roebuck and Company. ARepublican, Wood was a leader in theOld Right AmericanConservatism movement from the 1920s through the 1960s[1] as well as a key financial backer of theAmerica First Committee prior to the United States' entry into World War II.
_at_West_Point_in_1900.png)
Wood was born to parents Robert Whitney and Lillie (Collins) Wood inKansas City, Missouri.[2] Following graduation fromKansas City Central High School in 1895 he attended the United States Military Academy atWest Point, graduating in 1900 as a second lieutenant of cavalry.[3]
As an officer in theUnited States Army, he was stationed in the Philippines participating in field service during the Philippine insurrection. From 1902 to 1903 he was assigned toFort Assinniboine (Hill County, Montana) and then for three years as an instructor at West Point. In 1905 he became the Assistant Chief Quartermaster and later the Chief Quartermaster and Director of the Panama Railroad Company. He served in thePanama Canal Zone for ten years, during the construction of the canal.[citation needed]
Wood retired in July 1915, by special act of Congress, as a major. Following this retirement he worked as assistant to the vice president of theE. I. du Pont de Nemours Company and headed operations in the United States, Venezuela, and Trinidad for theGeneral Asphalt Company.[4] He briefly served as Purchasing Agent of theEmergency Fleet Corporation in early 1917.
_(cropped).jpg)
In 1917, on the eve of America's entry into the First World War, Wood returned to the Army as an Infantry Lieutenant Colonel. He served in Europe with the42nd (Rainbow) Division and was promoted to colonel. Later in the war Wood would serve as transportation director for the entireAmerican Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France.[3] Towards the end of the war, he was promoted tobrigadier general and made actingQuartermaster General of theArmy.[citation needed] In June 1916, prior to America's entry into the war, Wood's brother, Captain Stanley Wood, was killed in action while serving as a volunteer in theCanadian Army.[3]
After leaving the army again in 1919, Wood became an executive atMontgomery Ward, eventually becoming a vice-president of the company.[citation needed] In 1924, he left Montgomery Ward to take a position of vice-president ofSears Roebuck.[citation needed] He became one of the most important leaders in that company's history, serving as president from 1928 until 1939 and as chairman from 1939 until 1954.[5] Under his leadership, Sears shifted the focus of its operations from mail-order sales to retail sales at large urban department stores. Wood also createdAllstate Insurance as a subsidiary of Sears.[6]
In 1950, he was admitted as an honorary member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati.[7]
Wood, once again, served as an honorary chairman for Sears from 1968 until shortly before his death in 1969.[8]
Wood was also politically active and was noted as a conservativeRepublican. However, this did not prevent Wood from initially supporting theNew Deal and voting forFranklin Roosevelt in the1932 and1936 Presidential elections.[9] He would also be appointed as a member of Roosevelt's Business Council in 1935.[10][11] Nevertheless, Wood would eventually become disenchanted with Roosevelt and the New Deal by the late 1930s.[9][11] In 1940, he helped found theAmerica First Committee to oppose U.S. involvement in theSecond World War; he served as the committee's first president on an interim basis.[12] In 1954, Wood funded the creation of theManion Forum, a conservative radio program hosted byClarence Manion.[13]
Wood financed theNational Economic Council, a far-right group that opposed civil rights and linked it to communism.[14]
_at_Lake_Forest_Cemetery%2c_Illinois.jpg)
Robert Wood married Mary Butler Hardwick ofAugusta, Georgia on April 30, 1908.[2] They were the parents of five children: four daughters and a son.
Wood died at his home in Lake Forest on November 6, 1969, and was buried atLake Forest Cemetery.[15]
A great grandson, Keene Addington, is a Chicago restaurateur who currently runs the Tortoise Supper Club.[16]
Bronze busts honoring Wood and seven other industry magnates stand between theChicago River and theMerchandise Mart in downtownChicago,Illinois.Woodfield Mall inSchaumburg, Illinois, where Sears had been a tenant, is named in part after General Wood.[18] Formerly, aBoys and Girls Club in Chicago had also been named after him.[19]
Wood was inducted into theJunior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1979.[20]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
