John J. Louis, Jr.

Who was John J. Louis, Jr.?

John Jeffry Louis, Jr. was an American businessman and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Born in Evanston, Illinois to Chicago advertiser John Jeffry Louis and Johnson Wax heiress Henriette Johnson Louis, John J. Louis, Jr. grew up in the Chicago area.

During the Second World War, he served in the United States Army Air Forces, where he was a second lieutenant and pilot. After the war, he attended Williams College, then continued his studies at Dartmouth College.

Entering business in 1951, John J. Louis, Jr. started in his father's advertising firm, Needham, Louis, and Brorby. In 1953, he married Josephine Louis, with whom he had three children. He then joined S.C. Johnson and Son in 1958. S.C. Johnson was the successor company of his great-grandfather's company, Johnson Wax. At S.C. Johnson, John J. Louis, Jr. was director of international marketing until 1961.

From 1961 to 1968, he was chairman of KTAR Broadcasting in Phoenix, Arizona, until it merged with a local billboard company to form Combined Communications Corporation. He then served as chair of the merged company. In 1979, Combined Communications merged with Gannett, and John J. Louis, Jr. joined Gannett.