George Pepperdine (; June 20, 1886 – July 31, 1962) was an American entrepreneur and Christian philanthropist who was the founder of

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

in California.

Biography

Early life

George Pepperdine was born on June 20, 1886, on a farm in

Mound Valley, Kansas Mound Valley is a city in Labette County, Kansas, Labette County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 348. History Mound Valley was founded in 1869. It was named from mound-li ...

, to a family of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

heritage. His parents became members of The Church of Christ after experiencing a powerful conversion during a tent meeting outside of Parsons, Kansas. Pepperdine graduated from Parsons Business College in Parsons, Kansas.

Career

In 1909, at the age of 23, he started

Western Auto Supply Company Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a specialty retail chain of stores that supplied automobile parts and accessories. It operated approximately 1200 stores across the United States. It was started in ...

in Kansas City, Missouri, with an initial investment of five dollars. With the rise in popularity of the automobile, Pepperdine's business thrived, providing high-quality automotive products and services through many retail stores. He moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1916.

Philanthropy

In February 1937, during the Great Depression, he founded

as a Christian

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

college in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California. On September 21, 1937, 167 new students from 22 states and two foreign countries entered classes on a newly built campus on in

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

,Aldore Collier
FaithDome: "A grand-slam homer for Jesus."
''Ebony'', December 1989. referred to later as the Vermont Avenue campus.Tracy Domingo

, ''Graphic'', November 14, 2002 By April 6, 1938, George Pepperdine College was fully accredited by the Northwest Association. He had a desire to discover "how humanity can be helped most with the means entrusted to iscare. econsider dit wrong to build up a great fortune and use it selfishly." Pepperdine voiced his twofold objective for the college that bore his name, "First, we want to provide first-class, fully accredited academic training in the liberal arts ... Secondly, we are especially dedicated to a greater goal—that of building in the student a

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

-like life, a love for the church, and a passion for the souls of mankind."From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: plain-folk religion, grassroots politics, and the rise of evangelical conservatism
Darren Dochuk; pp. 51–52

Personal life

He married Lena Rose Baker in 1907 in Kansas. She died in 1930, and he remarried in 1934 to Helen Louise Davis.

Death

He died in California in 1962.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Pepperdine University.edu: Official biographyPepperdine Finding Aid to his Papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pepperdine, George 1886 births 1962 deaths People from Labette County, Kansas People from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Los Angeles Philanthropists from California Founders of schools in the United States Pepperdine University University and college founders American members of the Churches of Christ American people of English descent 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists