Herman J. "HJ" Russell, whose instinct to buy a vacant Atlanta lot at age 16 propelled him to found a construction and real estate firm involved in building many city landmarks—and made him one of the country's most successful and well-known black entrepreneurs and civil rights activists—died on Nov. 15 at age 83 after a brief illness, says a company spokeswoman.
Russell, the son of a plasterer, founded H.J. Russell & Co. in the 1950s, before graduating with a building construction degree from Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University.