Hornblower & Weeks
Encyclopedia
Hornblower & Weeks was an investment banking
and brokerage firm founded by Henry Hornblower and John W. Weeks
in 1888. At its peak in the late 1970s, Hornblower ranked eighth among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange
in number of retail offices, with 93 retail sales offices located in the United States and Europe.
Hornblower was active in financing automobile companies in the first half of the 20th century, including Dodge Motors, General Motors
, and Hudson Motor Car Company
.
The firm, which by the 1970s was known as Hornblower Weeks Noyes & Trask, was acquired by Loeb, Rhoades & Co.
to form Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co.
undertook the continuation of the business of Hornblower & Page, which had been founded and managed by Hornblower's father, Edward Thomas Hornblower.
Henry Hornblower joined his father's firm in 1879 at age 16 and had served as a clerk. Henry Hornblower, who was born June 6, 1863 in Lawrence, Massachusetts
came from a distinguished patrician family in Boston. "The name of 'Hornblower' is one of the features of Boston and the old Bay State. It is a name that has flourished through generations...The line of Hornblowers in Boston and New England has been an honorable one as far back as family prestige can be traced."
Following the death of Mr. Page in the spring of 1888, Edward Hornblower, who was blind by this time, announced his retirement and his intention to dissolve the firm. The younger Hornblower joined together with John Weeks to begin the new firm where the old one had left off. The firm's original office was located at 51 State Street
with one clerk, James J. Phelan, who would ultimately serve as a partner of the firm until his death in 1934. In 1889, they bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange for $19,000 and moved to the Merchant’s Bank Building on Devonshire Street. Surviving the Panic of 1893, which resulted in numerous failures of industrial corporations and financial houses, the young firm moved into larger quarters on the second floor of the Exchange Building at 53 State Street
.
In 1913, Ralph Hornblower, son of the founder, Henry Hornblower, was admitted to the partnership, and John W. Weeks
retired upon his election to the U.S. Senate. Weeks was involved in the creation of the Federal Reserve System
in 1914 and would go on to be U.S. Secretary of War in the 1920s.
After the crash of 1929, which the firm survived with small capital losses except in the syndicate department, the firm went through a period of retrenchment. By 1930, firm capital had grown to over $16 million, but would be substantially reduced during the ensuing years of the depression. During the 1930s Hornblower made a number of acquisitions including a merger with G.M.-P. Murphy & Co.
, best known for its financing of major aviation companies, including Pan American Airways, United Air Lines, Boeing
, and Lockheed
.
In 1950, Henry Hornblower,II and Ralph Hornblower, Jr., were admitted as partners to the firm.
In the 1960s the firm opened new offices around the country with thirty offices operating from coast to coast, and memberships were held in all the major American exchanges by 1963.
The firm merged with Hemphill, Noyes & Co. in 1963, changing its name to Hornblower & Weeks, Hemphill, Noyes. Hemphill, Noyes & Co. had been founded in 1919 by Jansen Noyes and Clifford Hemphill, among others. Jansen Noyes, Jr. was named chairman of Hornblower, Weeks, Hemphill, Noyes & Co. in 1968. Hornblower next acquired Spencer Trask & Co., changing the name once again to Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask. At this point in time, Hornblower ranked eighth among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange in number of retail offices, with 93 retail sales offices located in the United States and Europe.
agreed to a merger with Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask to form Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co. The merger turned out to be disastrous for both firms. The two firms incured significant costs attempting to merge their back office operations, both of which had issues prior to the merger. By the end of 1978, less than a year after the merger, the combined firm was losing millions of dollars.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, Sanford I. Weill
was acquiring brokerage firms and by 1979 was running Shearson Hayden Stone, the culmination of nearly a dozen acquisitions. By early 1979, Hornblower, now known part of the larger Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co. was suffering and looking for a potential acquiror. During Mothers Day Weekend 1979, Loeb and Shearson agreed to a merger to form Shearson Loeb Rhoades. Weill was named the CEO of the combined firm and John Loeb became the firm's chairman. At the time, Shearson Loeb Rhoades was among the largest investment banking houses with $250 million of equity capital.
to form Shearson/American Express.
Shortly after the merger with Shearson, Ralph Hornblower Jr. and Ralph (Ray) Hornblower III formed a new company, named Hornblower & Company with offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Ray Hornblower was a running back for the Harvard Football team in the 1968 tie game against Yale, featured in the documentary film Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
.
An unrelated firm attempted to resurrect the Hornblower & Weeks name from 1998 - 2003 but was resisted by the Hornblower family.
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
and brokerage firm founded by Henry Hornblower and John W. Weeks
John W. Weeks
John Wingate Weeks was an American politician in the Republican Party. He served as a United States Representative for Massachusetts from 1905 to 1913, as a United States Senator from 1913 to 1919, and as Secretary of War from 1921 to 1925.-Life and career:Weeks was born and raised in Lancaster,...
in 1888. At its peak in the late 1970s, Hornblower ranked eighth among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
in number of retail offices, with 93 retail sales offices located in the United States and Europe.
Hornblower was active in financing automobile companies in the first half of the 20th century, including Dodge Motors, General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, and Hudson Motor Car Company
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...
.
The firm, which by the 1970s was known as Hornblower Weeks Noyes & Trask, was acquired by Loeb, Rhoades & Co.
Loeb, Rhoades & Co.
Loeb, Rhoades & Co. was a Wall Street brokerage firm founded in 1931 and acquired in 1979 by Sanford I. Weill's Shearson Hayden Stone. Although the firm would operate as Shearson Loeb Rhoades for two years, the firm would ultimately be acquired in 1981 by American Express to form Shearson/American...
to form Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co.
Founding and early history
Hornblower & Weeks was organized on August 7, 1888. Henry Hornblower and John W. WeeksJohn W. Weeks
John Wingate Weeks was an American politician in the Republican Party. He served as a United States Representative for Massachusetts from 1905 to 1913, as a United States Senator from 1913 to 1919, and as Secretary of War from 1921 to 1925.-Life and career:Weeks was born and raised in Lancaster,...
undertook the continuation of the business of Hornblower & Page, which had been founded and managed by Hornblower's father, Edward Thomas Hornblower.
Henry Hornblower joined his father's firm in 1879 at age 16 and had served as a clerk. Henry Hornblower, who was born June 6, 1863 in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
came from a distinguished patrician family in Boston. "The name of 'Hornblower' is one of the features of Boston and the old Bay State. It is a name that has flourished through generations...The line of Hornblowers in Boston and New England has been an honorable one as far back as family prestige can be traced."
Following the death of Mr. Page in the spring of 1888, Edward Hornblower, who was blind by this time, announced his retirement and his intention to dissolve the firm. The younger Hornblower joined together with John Weeks to begin the new firm where the old one had left off. The firm's original office was located at 51 State Street
State Street (Boston)
State Street is a major street in the financial district in Boston, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest streets in the city. The street is the site of some historic landmarks. The Faneuil Hall Marketplace can also be found nearby...
with one clerk, James J. Phelan, who would ultimately serve as a partner of the firm until his death in 1934. In 1889, they bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange for $19,000 and moved to the Merchant’s Bank Building on Devonshire Street. Surviving the Panic of 1893, which resulted in numerous failures of industrial corporations and financial houses, the young firm moved into larger quarters on the second floor of the Exchange Building at 53 State Street
State Street (Boston)
State Street is a major street in the financial district in Boston, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest streets in the city. The street is the site of some historic landmarks. The Faneuil Hall Marketplace can also be found nearby...
.
1900-1950
By 1900, the firm had a net worth of $400,000, by 1902, $800,000, and in 1903 and 1904, founding partner John W. Weeks, consolidated the First National Bank of Boston with the National Bank of Redemption, creating the largest bank of New England. In 1907, offices were opened in Providence and Chicago, and a Bond department was established. That same year, the firm became one of the first on Wall Street to set up a Statistical and Research Department.In 1913, Ralph Hornblower, son of the founder, Henry Hornblower, was admitted to the partnership, and John W. Weeks
John W. Weeks
John Wingate Weeks was an American politician in the Republican Party. He served as a United States Representative for Massachusetts from 1905 to 1913, as a United States Senator from 1913 to 1919, and as Secretary of War from 1921 to 1925.-Life and career:Weeks was born and raised in Lancaster,...
retired upon his election to the U.S. Senate. Weeks was involved in the creation of the Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
in 1914 and would go on to be U.S. Secretary of War in the 1920s.
After the crash of 1929, which the firm survived with small capital losses except in the syndicate department, the firm went through a period of retrenchment. By 1930, firm capital had grown to over $16 million, but would be substantially reduced during the ensuing years of the depression. During the 1930s Hornblower made a number of acquisitions including a merger with G.M.-P. Murphy & Co.
Grayson Murphy
Colonel Grayson M.-P. Murphy was an American private banker and a director of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, Guaranty Trust Company, New York Trust Company, Bethlehem Steel, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, New York Railways, Fifth Avenue Coach Co., and Chicago Motor Coach Co. Mr...
, best known for its financing of major aviation companies, including Pan American Airways, United Air Lines, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, and Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
.
In 1950, Henry Hornblower,II and Ralph Hornblower, Jr., were admitted as partners to the firm.
Expansion and consolidation from 1950-1977
In 1953, Hornblower & Weeks merged with the firm Paul H. Davis & Co. of Chicago, which had functioned as a correspondent of the New York Hornblower office. Later that year the acquisition of the cotton brokerage business of Scatterty & Jones led to new Hornblower offices in the Southern U.S. The mergers brought the firm’s total to 19 offices nationwide. Reed & Company of Worcester, Massachusetts was acquired in 1955.In the 1960s the firm opened new offices around the country with thirty offices operating from coast to coast, and memberships were held in all the major American exchanges by 1963.
The firm merged with Hemphill, Noyes & Co. in 1963, changing its name to Hornblower & Weeks, Hemphill, Noyes. Hemphill, Noyes & Co. had been founded in 1919 by Jansen Noyes and Clifford Hemphill, among others. Jansen Noyes, Jr. was named chairman of Hornblower, Weeks, Hemphill, Noyes & Co. in 1968. Hornblower next acquired Spencer Trask & Co., changing the name once again to Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask. At this point in time, Hornblower ranked eighth among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange in number of retail offices, with 93 retail sales offices located in the United States and Europe.
Sale of Hornblower
In January 1977 Loeb, Rhoades & Co.Loeb, Rhoades & Co.
Loeb, Rhoades & Co. was a Wall Street brokerage firm founded in 1931 and acquired in 1979 by Sanford I. Weill's Shearson Hayden Stone. Although the firm would operate as Shearson Loeb Rhoades for two years, the firm would ultimately be acquired in 1981 by American Express to form Shearson/American...
agreed to a merger with Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask to form Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co. The merger turned out to be disastrous for both firms. The two firms incured significant costs attempting to merge their back office operations, both of which had issues prior to the merger. By the end of 1978, less than a year after the merger, the combined firm was losing millions of dollars.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, Sanford I. Weill
Sanford I. Weill
Sanford I. "Sandy" Weill is an American banker, financier and philanthropist. He is a former chief executive officer and chairman of Citigroup. He served in those positions until October 1, 2003, and April 18, 2006, respectively....
was acquiring brokerage firms and by 1979 was running Shearson Hayden Stone, the culmination of nearly a dozen acquisitions. By early 1979, Hornblower, now known part of the larger Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co. was suffering and looking for a potential acquiror. During Mothers Day Weekend 1979, Loeb and Shearson agreed to a merger to form Shearson Loeb Rhoades. Weill was named the CEO of the combined firm and John Loeb became the firm's chairman. At the time, Shearson Loeb Rhoades was among the largest investment banking houses with $250 million of equity capital.
Successors
Following the merger with Shearson, the Hornblower name was retired permanently. Just two years later, in 1981, Weill sold the combined company to American ExpressAmerican Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
to form Shearson/American Express.
Shortly after the merger with Shearson, Ralph Hornblower Jr. and Ralph (Ray) Hornblower III formed a new company, named Hornblower & Company with offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Ray Hornblower was a running back for the Harvard Football team in the 1968 tie game against Yale, featured in the documentary film Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 is a 2008 documentary by filmmaker Kevin Rafferty, covering the 1968 meeting between the football teams of Yale and Harvard in their storied rivalry...
.
An unrelated firm attempted to resurrect the Hornblower & Weeks name from 1998 - 2003 but was resisted by the Hornblower family.