Kress, Samuel Henry (1863-1955), was an American businessman and art collector. He founded S. H. Kress & Company, one of the largest chains of U.S. department stores. In 1887, he bought a stationery store and entered the retail business in Nanticoke, Pa. Kress opened his first five-and-ten-cent store in 1896 in Memphis, Tennessee. He collected Italian art and left much of his collection and fortune to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Kress was born in Cherryville, Pennsylvania.
