Anthony Overton Jr. (1865-1946), a banker and manufacturer, was the first African American to lead a major business conglomerate. Overton owned Overton Hygienic Company, a successful cosmetics firm valued at more than $1 million dollars. He published in Half Century Magazine and then the Chicago Bee.
Illinois Connections: Among his legacies is the landmark Chicago Bee building in which he housed his enterprises, a classic art deco structure located in Chicago’s historic black Metropolis-Bronzeville district It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1986.