James Alexander Gray Jr. (August 21, 1889 – October 29, 1952) was a president and chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was the brother of fellow R.J. Reynolds president Bowman Gray Sr. He also served as a North Carolina state senator for two terms and as a philanthropist, donated to a variety of educational causes in North Carolina.
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Early life and family
Gray was born in Winston-Salem to Wachovia co-founder James Alexander Gray and the former Aurelia Bowman. After receiving his primary and secondary education in his hometown, Gray graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1908. He became a clerk at Wachovia, eventually rising within 10 years to a position as vice-president. In 1919, Gray joined the board of directors at Wachovia, on which he remained the rest of his life.
Gray lived in the house he was born in for his entire life. He married Pauline L. Bahnson on April 18, 1918, and they had six children—James Jr., Bahnson, Howard, Christine, Pauline, and Aurelia. He attended Centenary United Methodist Church, and his nephew was Gordon Gray.
In 1912, Gray's brother Bowman moved his family to Winston to take up his new position of vice-president and director of R. J. Reynolds, hand-picked by R. J. Reynolds himself to head the company's finance division. In 1924, Bowman was promoted to president of the company to succeed Reynolds' brother William Neal Reynolds, and in 1932 Bowman became the chairman of the board of directors.