Hurley Calister "Cal" Turner (May 28, 1915 – November 20, 2000) was an American businessman. He was the co-founder of

Dollar General Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of April 11, 2022, Dollar General operates 18,216 stores in the continental United States. The company began in 1939 as a family-own ...

alongside his father.

Early life

Cal Turner was born on May 28, 1915, in

Macon County, Tennessee Macon County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,216. Its county seat is Lafayette, Tennessee, Lafayette. Macon County is part of the ...

. His father,

James Luther Turner James Luther "J.L." Turner (February 28, 1891 - April 19, 1964) was the founder of J.L. Turner and Son, the predecessor of Dollar General. Early life James Turner was born on February 28, 1891 to Johnnie and Nancy Turner. His father died in an a ...

, was a traveling salesman who, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, found success selling-off store inventories before the stores had to close down.

Business career

Turner co-founded J. L. Turner & Son Wholesale with his father, J.L. Turner, in

Scottsville, Kentucky Scottsville is a home rule-class city in Allen County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 4,226 during the 2010 U.S. Census. History The site along Bays Fork was settled in 1797 and developed into ...

, in 1939. It later became known as

, a chain of dollar stores. He listed it on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

in 1968. He retired in 1989. By the time of his death, it had "4,800 discount stores in 25 states."

Philanthropy

Turner endowed the Turner Family Scholarships for Dollar General employees in 1999.

Personal life

Turner married Laura Katherine Goad. They had four children: Laura Dugas,

Cal Turner Jr. Hurley Calister "Cal" Turner Jr. (born January 25, 1940) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Dollar General, a chain of low-cost variety stores founded by his father, ...

, Betty Campbell, Steve Turner. His wife predeceased him in 1988.

Death

Turner died on November 20, 2000, in

References

1915 births 2000 deaths People from Macon County, Tennessee People from Scottsville, Kentucky Businesspeople from Tennessee Philanthropists from Tennessee American company founders Turner family 20th-century American philanthropists Dollar General 20th-century American businesspeople American businesspeople in retailing {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub