Innovative and exacting, department store pioneer Marshall Field (1834–1906) was born on this day in Conway, Massachusetts, the son of a farmer. As a teen, he began working as a dry goods clerk and never looked back.

“I was determined not to remain poor,” he said. That determination—and Field’s keen eye for opportunity—led him to Chicago in 1856, where he rose from stock boy to manager at a thriving dry goods firm.

He partnered with Potter Palmer and Levi Z. Leiter, and by 1893, owned what was then the world’s largest department store. Field pioneered electric lighting, personal service, and even negotiated streetcar stops for customer convenience.

“Goodwill is the only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy,” he once said. He believed in the power of kindness and built his business with integrity.

Field’s famous motto: “Give the lady what she wants.” He introduced liberal returns, delivery services, and transformed shopping into an experience—especially for women, who were not yet welcomed everywhere.

“Right or wrong, the customer is always right,” he said, and meant it.

Even after fire and financial storms, Field's legacy endured—until his name was quietly retired in 2006, after 150+ years of service to the city of Chicago and beyond.