George Herbert Walker
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George Herbert "Bert" Walker (June 11, 1875 - June 24, 1953) was a wealthy American banker and businessman. His daughter Dorothy married Prescott Bush, making him the grandfather (and namesake) of President George H. W. Bush and the great-grandfather of current President George W. Bush.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Walker was the youngest son of David Davis Walker, a dry goods merchant from Bloomington, Illinois, and Martha Adela Beaky. Ely, Walker & Company, which grew into a leading regional wholesaler, was later acquired by Burlington Industries. Walker spent part of his education in England at Stonyhurst College.
In 1900, he started a banking and investment firm named G.H. Walker and Co. His family had developed many international banking contacts, and he helped organize the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Walker was known as the power behind the local Democratic party.
In 1920, Walker became the President of the W.A. Harriman & Co. investment firm, and quickly arranged the credits that Averell Harriman needed to take control of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. Walker also organized the American Ship and Commerce Corp. to be subsidiary of the W.A. Harriman & Co., with contractual power over the affairs of the Hamburg-Amerika. W.A. Harriman & Co., well-positioned for this enterprise and rich in assets from their German and Russian business, merged with the British-American investment house Brown Bros. & Co. on January 1, 1931. Walker retired to his own G.H. Walker & Co. This left the Harriman brothers, his son-in-law Prescott Bush and Thatcher M. Brown as senior partners of the new firm of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (The London, England based branch continued operating under its historic name Brown, Shipley & Co.) Walker was a director of the W.A. Harriman & Company; Harriman Fifteen, American International Corporation; Georgian Manganese Corporation; Barnsdall Corporation; American Ship & Commerce Corporation; Union Banking Corporation; G.H. Walker & Company; Missouri Pacific Railroad; Laclede Gas and the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad.
In addition to his business concerns, Walker was also a golf enthusiast and a president of the United States Golf Association (USGA). The USGA's Walker Cup (the famous biennial golf match) acquired Walker's namessake for his role in the event's creation. His son-in-law, Prescott Bush was a member of the executive committee of the USGA, serving successively as Secretary, Vice President and President, 1928-1935. He also coheaded the syndicate, (with W. Averell Harriman), which rebuilt the famed sports venue of Madison Square Garden and the Belmont Race Track, 1925. His brother-in-law Joseph Walker Wear was one of the founders of the Davis Cup.
Walker was the father of Dorothy Wear Walker, New York Mets cofounder George Herbert Walker, Jr. (S&B 1927), Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center CEO Dr. John M. Walker, Sr. (S&B 1931) (father of Judge John M. Walker, Jr.) and CIA agent Louis Walker (S&B 1936).
Walker died in 1953 in New York City, New York.
