Reynolds was born on August 15, 1881, in Madison County, North Carolina.
Reynolds was in part responsible for the company's switch from the production of chewing to smoking tobacco and the launch of Camel cigarettes.
[2] Shortly after World War I, Reynolds founded the U.S. Foil Company in Louisville, Kentucky.
The company's original business was to roll tin and lead foil for cigarette packaging.
Reynolds Metals was the second-largest aluminum company in the United States and the third-largest in the world.