O. Roy Chalk

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Oscar Roy Chalk (June 7, 1907 - December 1, 1995) was a New York entrepreneur who owned real estate, airlines, bus companies, newspapers and a rail line that hauled bananas in Central America. His diverse holdings included DC Transit, Trans Caribbean Airways, the Chalk Emerald, and the New York Spanish-language newspapers El Diario de Nueva York and La Prensa, merging them into El Diario La Prensa.

He was born in London, England and at age 3 emigrated to the United States. He grew up in the Bronx where his neighbors included Ira and George Gershwin and Lou Gehrig.

He graduated from New York University and its law school. He learned the real estate business and bought several apartment buildings.

He started Trans Caribbean Airlines with two DC-9s. It was through the airline that in the mid 1960's he eventually purchased the 800-mile rail line, International Railways of Central America, that transported bananas in Central America. Later he purchased a banana plantation.

He purchased the Washington, D.C. transit system in 1955 and in 1959 attempted to purchase New York's transit system.

He was a founder of the American-Korean Foundation and as a result the South Korean Government gave him its National Medal of Honor.

Mr. Chalk was chairman of the United Nations finance committee for several years and was a prominent fund raiser for the Democratic Party in the 1960's. He also helped raise money for the United Negro College Fund and served on the Georgetown University Board of Regents.

He died from cancer in a New York hospital at the age of 88.