Conrad Hilton

Conrad Nicholson Hilton was born in Socorro, Socorro County, New Mexico Territory (now New Mexico) to Augustus Halvorson "Gus" Hilton (born August Halvorsen Hilton) (Hilton, Ullensaker, Akershus, Norway, August 21, 1854 – San Antonio, Texas, January 19, 1919), a Norwegian, and wife (married in Fort Dodge, Iowa, February 12, 1885) Mary Genevieve Laufersweiler (Fort Dodge, Iowa, December 3, 1861 – Long Beach, California, August 26, 1947), a German-American.

Conrad's father Gus was the son of Halvor Nilsen (Hilton, Ullensaker, Akershus, March 11, 1810 – Hilton, Ullensaker, Akershus, October 15, 1864) and wife (married in Ullensaker, Akershus, December 15, 1839) Karoline "Kari" Hansdatter (Hilton, Ullensaker, Akershus, April 14, 1818 – Søndre, Ullensaker, Akershus, March 29, 1861). Gus was born on the Hilton family farm near Kløfta in Ullensaker, Norway, the only place in Europe, besides Germany, where the Hilton family still have relatives living. Gus emigrated to the United States in 1870. Conrad's mother was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the daughter of a German-born merchant, Conrad Laufersweiler (Germany, 1832 – Iowa, April 22, 1903) and his wife (married at Webster County, Iowa, January 15, 1861) Caroline Wasem (Germany, 1836 – Fort Dodge, Iowa, August 18, 1917), daughter of Adam Wasem (b. 1801, d. 1881) and wife Philippina Euler (d. 1837). Conrad's siblings were:

* Felice A. Hilton (December 6, 1885–February 12, 1968)
* Eva C. Hilton (December 29, 1889–1979)
* Carl H. Hilton (January 1892–1957)
* Julia Hilton (1895–1897)
* Rosemary J. Hilton (June 20, 1898–November 27, 1995)
* August H. "Boy" Hilton (1901–1929)
* Helen A. Hilton (January 30, 1906–February 22, 2003)

Conrad was educated at the New Mexico Military Institute, at St. Michael's College (now the College of Santa Fe), and at the New Mexico School of Mines (now New Mexico Tech). In his early twenties, he was a Republican representative in the first legislature of the newly-formed State of New Mexico.

Shortly after the United States entered World War I in 1917, Conrad Hilton enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to Officers' Training Command, Presidio of San Francisco. Second Lieutenant Hilton arrived in France, February 14, 1918. His unit the 304th Labor Battalion, saw limited combat. February 11, 1919, Conrad Hilton was discharged at Camp Dix, New Jersey (now Fort Dix). While Conrad was in the army, his father Gus was killed in a car accident.

Conrad Hilton built a store in Socorro County, New Mexico, but he later moved to Texas. He entered the hotel business by buying the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, in 1919. The first high rise hotel he built was the El Paso Hilton (now the Plaza Hotel (El Paso)), which opened on November 20, 1930. He formed the Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1946. The company expanded into credit cards, car rentals, and other travel services.

During the Great Depression Hilton was nearly forced into bankruptcy and lost several of his hotels. He was retained as a manager and eventually bought them back.

Hilton had three wives: Mary Adelaide Barron (Kentucky, 27 April 1906 – Santa Monica, California, 20 November 1966) (married in Dallas, Texas, 7 September 1925 and divorced 11 June 1934, she later married secondly in Fort Worth, Texas, 1 June 1935 to Mack Saxon, who died on 8 May 1949), daughter of Thomas Mason Barron II (Kentucky, 18 February 1883 – living 1930) (a descendant of William I of Scotland) and wife (married c. 1905) Mary Mulligan (Kentucky, c. 1884 – living 1930); actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (married 1942, divorced 1946); and Mary Frances Kelly (married 1976 through his death in 1979).

He and Barron had three sons:

* Conrad Nicholson "Nicky" Hilton, Jr. (1926–1969) (Elizabeth Taylor's first husband.)
* William Barron Hilton (born in 1927)
* Eric Michael Hilton (born in 1932)

He and Zsa Zsa Gabor had one daughter, Constance Francesca Hilton (born in 1947), who is the only child born to any of the famous Gabor sisters.

Conrad Hilton died on January 3, 1979, in Santa Monica, California, at age 91 from natural causes. He is interred at Calvary Hill Cemetery, in Dallas, Texas. Calvary Hill is a Catholic cemetery. [[1]]

His estate founded the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. He left US$250,000 to each of his surviving siblings and US$10,000 to each of his nieces and nephews. Most of his assets were willed to the Roman Catholic Church and charities. However, Conrad's son, Barron, contested the will and won in 1988. The net worth of Barron and his descendants then jumped to over US$335 million.

Conrad Hilton's autobiography, Be My Guest, was published in 1957 by Prentice Hall.

He is the great-grandfather of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton. There are currently two members of the Hilton family named Conrad. One is Paris' younger brother, Conrad Hughes Hilton. The other is Conrad Nicholson Hilton III, son of Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Jr.

The Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston is named after Conrad Hilton, as is the College of Business Administration building at Loyola Marymount University.

Quotations

"Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."

Trivia

* Hilton Hotel rooms worldwide include copies of Hilton's book Be My Guest and the Gideons Bible.
* Was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
* Lived on a farm from the beginning of March of '56 to mid March of '56