{"id":"ff55b865-417a-4c0a-b786-095b8f97f149","slug":"george-dayton","name":"George Dayton","bioBrief":"American businessman (1857-1938) who founded Dayton Dry Goods Company in 1902 in Minneapolis, which later became Target Corporation. Born in Clifton Springs, New York, he moved to Minnesota in 1881 to manage land investments. Purchased Goodfellow Dry Goods on Nicollet Avenue in 1902, renaming it Dayton's Dry Goods, which grew into Dayton's department store chain. Led the company until his death in 1938. His descendants eventually launched Target Stores in 1962, building on the family retail foundation he established.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation","name":"Wikipedia","title":"Target Corporation — Wikipedia"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dayton","title":"George Dayton","sourceName":"Wikipedia"},{"url":"https://www.onthisday.com/people/george-dayton","title":"George Dayton (Businessman and Founder of Target)","sourceName":"On This Day"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-15T03:00:47.017Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-16T17:33:07.079Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"ac7df2e5-599a-4d20-8630-106229c4cbdf","personId":"ff55b865-417a-4c0a-b786-095b8f97f149","companyId":"58e47342-4196-49d4-ba31-d2da733efd9f","role":"founder","roleTitle":"Founder (Dayton Dry Goods Co.)","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":false,"roleBasis":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-15T03:00:48.313Z","company":{"slug":"target","name":"Target Corporation"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"a5eea579-726c-45d4-b63a-5eb4925afefe","personId":"ff55b865-417a-4c0a-b786-095b8f97f149","companyId":"58e47342-4196-49d4-ba31-d2da733efd9f","foundingDate":"1902-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","cofounderStatus":"sole","stillAtCompany":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-16T17:33:46.850Z","company":{"slug":"target","name":"Target Corporation"}}]}