John Willard Marriott was born on September 17, 1900, in Marriott Settlement, Utah. In 1927, he opened an A&W root beer shop in Washington, D.C. and then launched the Hot Shoppe eateries. Marriott eventually became head of the National Restaurant Association and opened the first of the Marriott hotels in 1959. The chain became one of America's largest companies and developed into an international business.