Williams is credited for playing a major role in introducing French cookware into American kitchens through his retail and mail-order business.
[2][3] Born in 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida, Williams learned to cook from his maternal grandmother, who had owned a restaurant in Lima, Ohio.
When the Great Depression hit, his father's auto repair business failed, and the family moved to southern California.
The couple who owned it, Dana and Abagail Sniff, took him in and drove him to high school in the mornings while he spent the afternoons working at the date shop and grounds.
During World War II, he spent four years overseas as an airplane mechanic for Lockheed International, working on aircraft in India and East Africa.
[8] Chuck Williams sold Williams-Sonoma to Howard Lester and Jay McMahan in 1978 for $800,000 ($100,000 in cash and the assumption of $700,000 of debt.)