William Hathaway Forbes

William Hathaway Forbes (October 31, 1840 – October 11, 1897) was an American businessman. A Union army veteran and Harvard College alum, Forbes invested early in the Bell Telephone Company and served as company president from 1879 to 1887. He was a Boston Brahmin and member of the prominent Forbes family of Boston.

Early life Forbes was born on October 31, 1840, in Milton, Massachusetts. His father, John Murray Forbes, was a French-born railroad magnate.

Forbes enrolled at Harvard University in 1857, but he was expelled in 1860. During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he served in the 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry of the Union Army from 1861 to 1863, and in the 2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers from 1863 to 1865. Not only did Forbes invest, he encouraged some of his wealthy acquaintances to do so too.

Personal life Forbes married Edith Emerson, the daughter of poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Edward W. Forbes, Waldo Emerson Forbes and Alexander Forbes, and two daughters, Edith Forbes and Ellen Randolph Forbes.

Forbes, William Hathaway. The poems of William Hathaway Forbes, 1881 to 1897 (1898) online