Dorothy Shaver*
Class of 1948
- President Lord & Taylor
Be innovative and creative in your work and the rest will fall into place.
The granddaughter of a prominent Confederate officer of the Civil War, Dorothy Shaver was born in 1893 in Center Point, Arkansas. She graduated from high school in 1910 as salutatorian of her class. She attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville for two years and then returned to her hometown to teach. She and four other single teachers were fired in 1914 for attending a dance.
After leaving Arkansas, Shaver settled in New York City. In 1921, Lord & Taylor hired her to head its Comparison Bureau. In 1924, she headed the Bureau of Stylists, which made Lord & Taylor the style-setter in the city. In 1937, she became first vice president.
Shaver was elected president in 1945, making her the first woman in the country to head a multimillion-dollar firm. Lord & Taylor prospered under her direction and expanded into the suburbs.
In 1946 and 1947, the Associated Press named Shaver the outstanding woman in business.