John Graves Shedd (July 20, 1850October 22, 1926) was the second president, and chair of the board, of

Marshall Field & Company Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

Biography

Born on a

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

farm on July 20, 1850, Shedd arrived in Chicago, Illinois in 1871 and began working as a stock clerk for

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...

. By 1901, he had worked his way up to a vice-presidency and took over as president upon Field's death in 1906. Field himself described Shedd as "the greatest merchant in the United States," and, indeed, under Shedd's presidency

became the largest store in Chicago and the largest wholesale and dry goods company in the world. Shedd was a civic leader and founding member of the

Commercial Club of Chicago The Commercial Club of Chicago is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded in 1877 with a mission to promote the social and economic vitality of the metropolitan area of Chicago. History The Commercial Club was founded in 1877 ...

, which continues to play an active role in the city's efforts to maintain itself as a world-class metropolis. One of the Commercial Club's most notable undertakings was the sponsorship of Edward Bennett and

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

's Plan of Chicago, which was released in 1909 and which to this day is considered to be one of the most important urban planning documents ever created. One of Chicago's major

philanthropists Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, he contributed extensively to Chicago charities, universities and museums, and in the early 1920s he provided $3 million to build Chicago's

Shedd Aquarium Shedd Aquarium (formally the John G. Shedd Aquarium) is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Opened on May 30, 1930, the aquarium was for some time the largest indoor facility in the world. Today it holds about ...

, as a complement to The Field Museum (founded in 1893 as a part of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

and renamed in honor of Marshall Field in 1905) and The Art Institute of Chicago (whose current building was also a product of the 1893

). Completed in 1930, the

remained the world's largest aquarium for most of the century. In 1920, Shedd provided the funds for the construction of the

Shedd-Porter Memorial Library The Shedd-Porter Memorial Library, located at 3 Main Street, is the public library of Alstead, New Hampshire. The library building was a gift to the town from John Graves Shedd and Mary Roenna (Porter) Shedd, and is a Beaux Arts building built in ...

Alstead, New Hampshire Alstead () is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,864 at the 2020 census. Alstead is home to Feuer State Forest. History The town was chartered by Massachusetts Governor Jonathan Belcher in 1735 as one ...

. He died of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...

in Chicago on October 22, 1926.

Legacy

In 2002, The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, a community-based performing arts center and music school in Eugene, Oregon, was co-founded by one of his great-grandchildren. With his wife, Mary Roanna (née Porter) (1863–1942), they had daughters Helen Shedd Reed Keith and Laura Abbie Shedd Schweppe (? – 1937). Laura married Charles Hodgdon Schweppe (1881–1941) in 1913. His grandson

John Shedd Reed John Shedd Reed (1917 in Chicago, Illinois – March 16, 2008 in Lake Forest, Illinois) was president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and then its parent Santa Fe Industries from 1967 until 1986. The rail transport industry jour ...

was president of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

from 1967 to 1986 as well as president of the

from 1984 to 1994.

References

External links

The Shedd Aquarium websiteThe Shedd Institute website1921 Biographical Sketch
* Businesspeople from Chicago Burials at Rosehill Cemetery 1850 births 1926 deaths Marshall Field's People from Alstead, New Hampshire {{NewHampshire-stub