William Mathias Scholl graduated from Illinois Medical College (now Loyola University) in 1904 and founded a business that designed, manufactured, and sold orthopedic foot products. While most of its operations were based in Chicago, the company was incorporated in New York in 1913. Many of its products were sold under the “Dr. Scholl's” brand name. By the mid-1930s, Scholl employed nearly 400 people at its facilities on West Schiller Street in Chicago. Annual sales reached $65 million in 1967 and passed $200 million during the 1970s. By this time, the company was operating hundreds of “Foot Comfort Shops,” and it employed about 7,000 people across the country, including about 750 in the Chicago area. At the end of the 1970s, Scholl was acquired by Schering-Plough, a drug company based in New Jersey. By the early 2000s, the Brown Shoe Co. owned the famous Dr. Scholl's brand name.

This entry is part of the Encyclopedia's Dictionary of Leading Chicago Businesses (1820-2000) that was prepared by Mark R. Wilson, with additional contributions from Stephen R. Porter and Janice L. Reiff.