James Cash Penney Jr. (September 16, 1875 – February 12, 1971) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the JCPenney stores in 1902. See more

Penney was born on September 16, 1875, on a farm outside of Hamilton, Missouri, the seventh of twelve children, only six of whom lived to … See more

Penney was married three times. His first marriage, to Bertha Alva Hess (1869–1910) in 1899, produced two sons before her death from pneumonia:
• Roswell … See more

Freemason
Penney was a Freemason most of his adult life, initiated into Wasatch Lodge No. 1 Free and Accepted … See more

In 1898, Penney began working for a small chain of stores in the Western United States, called the Golden Rule stores. In 1902, owners Guy Johnson and Thomas Callahan, impressed … See more

Penney lived in New York City at 888 Park Avenue, though he spent the winters in Palm Springs, California.
On December 26, 1970, Penney fell and fractured his hip. A few weeks later, he suffered a heart attack and never fully recovered. He died … See more

• The J. C. Penney Conference Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis was dedicated in his honor on January 23, 1972. The building was made possible through financial … See more