Biographies

William Lawall Jacoby

Name:
William Lawall Jacoby

Born: 
1873

Joined AGB:
1916

Primary Dept/Div:
Corporate Finance

Primary Office:
Chicago

WIlliam Jacoby was a very bright, industrially experienced man hired by A.G. Becker (personally) in the 1916-1925 period. Jacoby graduated as a mechanical engineer from Lehigh University at age 18. He was general manager of the Latrobe Steel Company and organized and built the Inter Ocean Steel Company in Chicago Heights. As far as can be determined, given Jacoby’s background, he was hired to develop investment banking projects and relationships. He worked for Becker for nine years as a vice president. His success level is not clear, but it appears that he may have had a hand in developing or coordinating some of the many corporate financings handled by the firm in the 1919-1925 period, as described in the Chronicle. After Becker, Jacoby became head of Kellogg Switchboard and Supply. He died in 1930.

Obituary:
Chicago Tribune, January 13, 1930. William Jacoby Funeral Will Be Tomorrow. William L. Jacoby, President of Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Company, died Saturday at St. James Hospital, Chicago Heights. He graduated from Lehigh Univesity, worked for various industrial firms, and then for A.G. Becker & Co., and then joined Kellogg Switchboard and Supply. He is survived by his widow, Laura; and three children.