Profile of the Day: Richard Warren Sears

Richard Warren Sears

Do you remember browsing through the Sears catalog? On this day in 1914, Sears co-founder Richard Warren Sears died at the age of 50.

His father, James Warren Sears, was a successful blacksmith and wagon-maker. After his death, Sears worked to help support his family. He learned telegraphy and started working as a telegraph operator and station agent for the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway.

His life reached a turning point in 1886 when a shipment of watches was refused by a Minnesota retailer. Upon refusal of the shipment, Sears made a deal with the wholesaler to sell the items himself. He had great success selling them to other station agents, and after six months, sold them all and made $5,000 profit. He used his profits to begin a mail-order watch service, and as the business expanded, Sears published a mail-order catalog, which included a variety of items for purchase. By 1894, the catalog had reached over 500 pages.

Robert Warren Sears is connected to over 125 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?
 

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Image: Library of Congress