George Herbert Walker

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George Herbert "Bert" Walker Sr. (June 11, 1875 – June 24, 1953) was an American banker, businessman, and financier. He was the maternal grandfather of the 41st United States President George H. W. Bush and a great-grandfather of President George W. Bush, both of whom were named in his honor.
== Background ==
== Early Life and Education ==
Walker was born on June 11, 1875, in St. Louis, Missouri, to David Davis Walker, a dry goods merchant, and Martha Adela (Beaky) Walker. He was descended from a Maryland family. Walker, who was Roman Catholic, was educated at Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit boarding school in England. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1897.
=== Business Career ===
In 1900, Walker started an investment banking and brokerage firm named G.H. Walker & Co. in St. Louis. His family had developed many international banking contacts, and he helped organize the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Walker was known as a powerful figure behind the local Democratic Party.
In 1920, Walker became the president of the W.A. Harriman & Co. investment firm and arranged the credits that W. Averell Harriman needed to take control of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. Walker also organized the American Ship and Commerce Corp. as a subsidiary of W.A. Harriman & Co., with contractual power over the affairs of the Hamburg-Amerika.
After W.A. Harriman & Co. merged with Brown Bros. & Co. in 1931 to form Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Walker retired to his own G.H. Walker & Co. He served as a director of several companies, including W.A. Harriman & Company, Harriman Fifteen, American International Corporation, Georgian Manganese Corporation, Barnsdall Corporation, American Ship & Commerce Corporation, Union Banking Corporation, Missouri Pacific Railroad, Laclede Gas, and the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad.
=== Other Interests ===
In addition to his business ventures, Walker was a golf enthusiast and served as the president of the United States Golf Association (USGA). The USGA's Walker Cup, a biennial golf match, acquired Walker's namesake for his role in the event's creation. He was a member of Deepdale Golf Club and National Golf Links of America, the location of the first Walker Cup.
Walker also co-headed the syndicate with W. Averell Harriman that rebuilt the famous sports venues of Madison Square Garden and the Belmont Race Track in 1925.
=== Personal Life ===
Walker married Lucretia Wear in 1901, and they had six children, including Dorothy Wear Walker, who married Prescott Bush and became the mother of President George H. W. Bush and grandmother of George W. Bush.
Walker maintained residences in Kennebunkport, Maine; Long Island, New York; and Manhattan. In the 1930s, he purchased the 10,000-acre Duncannon Plantation near Barnwell, South Carolina, as a private hunting retreat.
=== Death and Legacy ===
Walker died in 1953 in New York City at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife, several grandchildren, including George H. W. Bush, and many great-grandchildren, including George W. Bush and Jeb Bush. Walker left a lasting legacy as a prominent banker, businessman, and financier, with close ties to the Bush family.
== References ==	
Category:Investment Bankers
Category:Deceased
Category:G.H. Walker & Co. - Former Employees