One of the most famous, and ubiquitous, businesses in America, a true household name, is also an eponymous business, bearing the name of its founder, Duncan Doughnuts. Another founder of a great American enterprise, perhaps less ubiquitous but nearly as famous, is Creighton Barrel.
What is less well known is that, long before he started his famous housewares (and later furniture) company, Mr. Barrel was in quite another line of work, stock brokerage, where he was partnered with Jason Lockstock. Naturally the concern was called Lockstock and Barrel.
And—again a story nearly forgotten—that huge feeder of millions of Americans, McDonald's, was started by none other than Old McDonald, who decided to come off the farm and start a hamburger restaurant in America's burgeoning suburbs. Some of his earlier eateries in fact bore the name "Old McDonald's."
Sadly, as I write this, another eponymous business is just on the verge of ceasing to be. That is Washington Mutual, the bank that had spread to where it had branches in 23 states. Mr. Mutual was, of course, one of so very many Americans to be named after the Father of Our Country, George Washington.
Copyright © 2009 by Richard Stein
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It's not related to businesses, but I was fascinated by the expression "your name will be mud" as a kid. As it turns out, Mudd was the doctor who patched up John Wilkes Booth after he shot Lincoln at Ford's Theater. Very interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI'm not positive about this but wasn't it Dr Mudd who as a southern sympathizer also attempted to spread smallpox to northerners in DC through clothes and bedding of infected persons whom he had treated elsewhere?
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