Jack O'Neill (businessman)
Jack O'Neill | |
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O'Neill (left) with United States Congressman Sam Farr
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Born | [1] Denver, Colorado |
March 27, 1923
Citizenship | American |
Home town | Santa Cruz, California |
Children | 7 |
Jack O'Neill is an American businessman, often credited with the invention of the wetsuit.[2] In 1952 he founded the O'Neill brand while opening one of California's first surf shops in a garage on the Great Highway in San Francisco, close to his favorite bodysurfing break at the time.[2] This led to the establishment of a company that deals in wetsuits, surf gear, and clothing.[3] Jack O'Neill's name is attached to surfwear and his brand of surfing equipment.[4]
In December 1996 he also began a non profit organization called O'Neill Sea Odyssey which provides students with hands-on lessons in marine biology and that teaches the relationship between the oceans and the environment.[5]
O'Neill resides on a beachfront property in Santa Cruz, California, where he has lived since 1959.[6][7]
Awards
in 2002, O'Neil was an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award Recipient for the Northern California Region.[8]
References
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- ↑ "How wet-suit pioneer Jack O’Neill shaped surfing culture" By Eric Gustafson, August 7, 2015 sfgate.com
- ↑ Jack O'Neill Honored SURFER Magazine. N.p., 27 June 2002. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Further reading
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- O'Neill dynasty
- Ocean Odysseys: Jack O'Neill, Dan Haifley, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary