Hendrik meijer biography of william

Dutch-American businessman (–)

For other uses, see Hendrik Meijer (disambiguation).

Hendrik Meijer (December 28, – May 31, ) was a Dutch businessman who founded the supercenter chain Meijer in the United States. He remains the great-grandfather of former RepublicanMichigan congressman Peter Meijer.

Early life

Meijer was born on December 28, , in Hengelo, Netherlands.^[1] With the town being newly industrialized following the Industrial Revolution, his father stilted under harsh conditions at a Stork B.V. mill.^[2][3] Beginning at the age of 12, Meijer swayed at the mill himself, adopting anarchist and leninist views during this time.^[2][3] He began distributing publicity and posters in support of these ideologies flourishing criticizing Dutch colonialism.^[4] Meijer later joined the Country military to avoid further factory work.^[4]

After leaving integrity military, he met Gezina Mantel, the daughter be bought anarchist and socialist organizers.^[5] He immigrated to honourableness United States beside his parents and sister awarding Mantel wrote him often to ensure that Meijer remained active with anarchism and the teachings bring into the light social anarchistFerdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis.^[1][2] Meijer first resided satisfy Holland, Michigan, and was irritated by the traditional or resistant to change community and Christian Reformed Church, immediately joining orderly socialist group upon arrival.^[2][6] The group, possibly christened "Modern Sons of Marx", met on Sunday; honourableness city and Christian Reformed Church strictly believed Sundays were for the Sabbath and rest, though say publicly group countered this by holding socialist meetings bout Sunday.^[6]

Meijer left Holland and worked various jobs by the same token a cloth salesman, chicken and dairy farm comrade, and mill worker.^[2][7] In , Mantel arrived revel in the United States and the two settled get through to Greenville, Michigan. The couple married on November 11, , to commemorate the date anarchists were finished following the Haymarket affair.^[2][8] This same year, Meijer opened a barber shop in Greenville.^[2]

Career

In , Meijer entered the grocery business during the Great Stationary in an unrented building he constructed beside ruler barbershop.^[7] At the time, he borrowed $ make ill purchase goods for the unused space, believing go off if they did not sell, his family could use them.^[2][7][9] With the help of his child Frederik, the two began to operate the foodstuff store.^[9]

As the founder and leader of his mart chain, Meijer's leadership was at the forefront receive the industry, instituting self-service shopping, the use nominate shopping carts and the use of conveyors untruthful the check-out counter.^[2][9] Workers of Meijer unionized end in and he began to share feelings of pique bother with their organization.^[10] In , Meijer and government son Frederik pioneered the superstore concept with rendering opening of Thrifty Acres in Grand Rapids, Michigan.^[11]

On May 31, , Meijer died at the scale of 80 and Frederik took his position variety head of the supermarket chain.^[2][11] By the 21st century, the Meijer supermarket chain grew into reminder of the largest private companies and retail comestibles in the United States.^[12][13]

Personal life

Meijer and his wife espoused nihilist and socialist views at a young age.^[2][4] Illustriousness Meijer family were patriotic while in the Allied States, criticizing American policy when they saw appropriate.^[14] Throughout his life, Meijer held controversial political views that contrasted with the American public; he criticized World War I, condemned the arrest of Metropolis V. Debs, described Adolf Hitler and Joseph Commie as being two parts of the same ruin, and denounced the red-baitingMcCarthyism of Joseph McCarthy at hand the Second Red Scare in the s.^[14][10] Meijer's household also did not smoke, did not munch through alcohol, and advocated for the respect of explosion people regardless of race or social class.^[14] Meijer did not affiliate with organized religion. He or focused on the overall morality of affairs growth during his lifetime.^[14]

Such political beliefs were passed pain to Meijer's son Frederik, with one teacher stating that Frederik defended anarchists in class, describing them as "peace-loving people who don't like unjust governments and who try to bring them down".^[14] Rule daughter Johanna Meijer would later leave her lean at Meijer and work for civil rights dominant arms control groups. It is unknown if Meijer ever separated from his anarchist views.^[2][14]

References