Leonard Riggio, founder and former chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc., has died following a valiant battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 83. Mr. Riggio was born in Manhattan's Little Italy before spending his formative years in Brooklyn where he attended Brooklyn Technical High School, which he graduated from in 1958 at the age of 16 having skipped two grades.

He began attending night school at New York University, quickly deciding that his time was better spent climbing the ranks in the college bookstore (where he began as a stock boy) than sitting in class. His decision proved to be a fruitful one. Mr. Riggio was a quick study and rapidly rose through the ranks thanks to his tenacity, charisma, and preternatural sense of the retail experience.