Mr. Reynolds was born in Patrick County, Virginia, on March 22, 1863. He was a partner in the newly established firm of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1890. In 1918 he advanced to the presidency and six years later he became Chairman of the Board. He served as a Director of the Wachovia Bank and Trust Company and the North Carolina Midland Railroad Company. Mr. Reynolds was a seasoned harness horse racer and had a horse named Mary Reynolds. His stable supplied some of the sport’s outstanding trotters and pacers. In 1889 he married Kate Bittings. They gave the Kate B. Reynolds Memorial Hospital for Negroes to the city of Winston-Salem. Mr. Reynolds was elected a Trustee of The Duke Endowment in 1931 and served until his death in 1951.