Editing Conrad Hilton (section)

==Early life==
Hilton was born on December 25, 1887, in [[San Antonio, New Mexico Territory|San Antonio]], Socorro County, New Mexico, to Norwegian-born [[Augustus Halvorsen Hilton]] (1854–1919) and Mary Genevieve Laufersweiler, a devout Catholic of German descent.<ref name="Hilton">{{Cite web |last=Hoover |first=Gary |date=April 24, 2018 |title=Conrad Hilton: The Dreamer Who Conquered an Industry |url=https://www.archbridgeinstitute.org/2018/04/24/conrad-hilton-the-dreamer-who-conquered-an-industry/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014013618/https://www.archbridgeinstitute.org/conrad-hilton-the-dreamer-who-conquered-an-industry/ |archive-date=October 14, 2023 |access-date=December 21, 2020 |website=Archbridge Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> He attended the [[New Mexico Military Institute|Goss Military Academy]] (since renamed as the New Mexico Military Institute) and St. Michael's College (later called the [[Santa Fe University of Art and Design]]), and the New Mexico School of Mines (now [[New Mexico Tech]]). From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] representative in the first [[New Mexico Legislature]], when the state was newly formed. Hilton became frustrated with the "bureaucracy, slowness, cheating, lying, and inside deals of politics,"<ref name=Hilton /> and in 1916, he refused to run for a fourth term, instead endorsing his longtime political ally, [[Quianu Robinson]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story|publisher=[[Farrar, Straus and Young]]|year=1954}}</ref>

He served two years in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War I]]. After completing Officer Training School, he became a second lieutenant, and served in [[Paris]] in the [[Quartermaster Corps (United States Army)|Quartermaster Corps]].<ref>[https://www.glion.edu/magazine/determination-in-adversity-the-story-of-conrad-hilton/ "Determination in adversity: the story of Conrad Hilton"], ''The Insider: The Magazine of Glion Institute of Higher Education'', October 22, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2021.</ref> While Conrad was in France with the army after the war, his father was killed in a car accident.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Be My Guest" by Conrad Hilton, copyright 1958 by the Prentice Hall Press</ref>

The most enduring influences to shape Hilton's philanthropic philosophy, beyond that of his parents, were the [[Catholic Church]] and his sisters. He credited his mother with guiding him to prayer and the church whenever he was troubled or dismayed—from the boyhood loss of a beloved pony, to severe financial losses during the [[Great Depression]]. His mother continually told him that prayer was the best investment he would ever make.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>