Justin Whitlock Dart Sr. (August 17, 1907 – January 26, 1984
retrieved 24 March 2024) was an American businessman, considered the "boy wonder" of the

drug store A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of ...

industry. In college Dart had played football for

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Biography

He was born on August 17, 1907. He attended

, where he played on the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

teams. Dart was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

er for the track and field team, finishing 3rd in that event at the 1928 NCAA Track and Field Championships. After marrying Ruth Walgreen, Dart became an executive with his father-in-law's ( Charles Walgreen) company, the

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

Drugstore chain.time.com, Milestones: 6 February 1984
/ref> At Walgreens, he introduced the concept of placing the pharmacy counter at the back of the drug store, which not only provided privacy for medical concerns, but forced patrons to walk past many items for possible purchase. Dart divorced his first wife, Ruth Walgreen, and left the Walgreen company shortly after. In 1943, Dart took control of the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-based United Drug Company. The chain operated under the Liggett, Owl, Sonta, and Rexall brands. Soon, Dart rebranded the stores under the Rexall name. After 35 years, Dart sold his stake in Rexall in 1978. Not long afterwards, he said "I would like my retirement and death to be simultaneous." During these years, Dart had acquired stakes in Avon, West Bend Housewares,

Duracell Duracell Inc. is an American manufacturer of alkaline batteries, specialty cells, and rechargeables; it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 2016. The company has its origins in the 1920s, through the work of Samuel Ruben a ...

, Ralph Wilson Plastics, Archer Glass and

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, which were collectively known as Dart Industries. In 1980, Dart sold his company to Kraft Industries. Although Dart Industries never owned Avon, it was the former parent company to Tupperware Home Parties. Dart Industries merged with

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

Death

Dart died from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

in 1984, aged 76.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Dart received the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

posthumously in 1987.

Family

Dart and his second wife, former actress

Jane Bryan Jane Bryan (born Jane O'Brien; June 11, 1918 – April 8, 2009) was an American actress who appeared in Hollywood films throughout the late 1930s. She was groomed by Warner Bros. to become one of its leading ladies, but instead chose to retire fr ...

(1918–2009), were married on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

in 1939, and remained married until his death in 1984. The couple had three children. Dart and Bryan were staunch Republicans and helped convince their close friend, former California Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, to run for the presidency of the United States in 1980. His son by his first marriage, Justin Whitlock Dart Jr. was an advocate for the disabled. In 1989, Dart Jr. was appointed by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

to the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Dart Jr. also helped pass the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

of 1990; he died in 2002 of complications related to polio.https://www.justindart.com/biography retrieved on 24 March 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dart, Justin Whitlock 1907 births 1984 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American football guards Northwestern Wildcats football players Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois 20th-century American businesspeople Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Illinois Republicans Northwestern Wildcats men's track and field athletes American male hammer throwers Track and field athletes from Illinois