Kyle Murphy

In 1909 Pepperdine, then 23 years old and a newlywed, founded Western Auto Supply Company, a specialty retail chain of stores that supplied automobile parts and accessories, with an initial investment of five dollars. Serving a nation just beginning its love affair with the automobile, Western Auto grew at an exponential rate and eventually operated approximately 1,200 stores across the United States.

On September 21, 1937 (commemorated annually as Founder's Day) George Pepperdine College was opened and dedicated, a mere seven months after Pepperdine had decided to go ahead with construction in February.