Nathaniel Leverone*

Nathaniel Leverone was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, in 1884. As one of six children, he grew up in Keane, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College, where he was Phi Beta Kappa.

After moving to Chicago, he manufactured auto accessories and invested in real estate. Late in the 1920s, Leverone realized the potential of automation, but he was determined to bring honesty and fair value to the vending industry, which until then had been closely associated with gambling devices and dishonest practices. He became director, secretary, and executive committee member of the famous Chicago Crime Commission.

Leverone founded Automatic Canteen in 1929 with 100 five-cent candy bar machines. Canteen became the world's largest vending company, serving more than five million customers every day.

In 1968, Leverone donated $5 million to Northwestern University to fund the construction of Nathaniel Leverone Hall, which housed the Graduate School of Management. The Dartmouth College field house was also named after Nathaniel Leverone.