About
Conrad Nicholson Hilton was born on December 25, 1887, in San Antonio, New Mexico. After serving in World War I and in the New Mexico legislature, he bought his first hotel, the Mobley, in Cisco, Texas, in 1919. He then built a hotel empire, constructing the first Hilton Hotel in Dallas in 1925 and acquiring prestigious properties such as the Waldorf-Astoria and the Plaza in New York. In 1946, he formed the Hilton Hotels Corporation and, in 1948, the Hilton International Company, creating the first international hotel chain. In 1954, he acquired the Statler chain for $111 million, then the largest real estate transaction in history. A philanthropist, he established the Conrad N.
Major works
- Be My Guest (1957)autobiography
- Inspirations of an Innkeeper (1963)book
Key milestones
- 1919Purchased his first hotel, the Mobley, in Cisco, Texas.
- 1946Founded the Hilton Hotels Corporation.
- 1954Acquired the Statler chain for $111 million, then the largest real estate transaction in history.
Themes
HospitalityEntrepreneurshipPhilanthropyInternational expansionFamily legacy
Sources: britannica.com · tshaonline.org · id.loc.gov