Robert Reed Church, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Robert Reed Church

American businessman

Date of Birth: 18-Jun-1839

Place of Birth: Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States

Date of Death: 29-Aug-1912

Profession: philanthropist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Robert Reed Church Sr.
(June 18, 1839 – August 29, 1912) was an African-American entrepreneur, businessman and landowner in Memphis, Tennessee, who began his rise during the American Civil War.
He was the first African-American "millionaire" in the South.
Church built a reputation for great wealth and influence in the business community.
He founded Solvent Savings Bank, the first black-owned bank in the city, which extended credit to blacks so they could buy homes and develop businesses.
As a philanthropist, Church used his wealth to develop a park, playground, auditorium and other facilities for the black community, who were excluded by state-enacted racial segregation from most such amenities in the city. The son of a black mother and white father, Church began working as a steward when his father, a steamboat owner, took him along on his route between Memphis and New Orleans.
Robert Church bought his first property in Memphis in 1862.
He was well established by 1878-79, the years of devastating yellow fever epidemics which resulted in dramatic depopulation in the city.
With property devalued, Church bought numerous businesses as well as undeveloped land, with the long-term view of their appreciation as the city recovered.
He built his great wealth on this real estate.
He purchased the first $1,000 municipal bond to help the city recover from bankruptcy after it was reduced to a Taxing District.