Captain William Rankin Ballard (August 12, 1847 – February 4, 1929) Capt. Ballard was a Seattle pioneer, banker, and land developer. He was one of the founders of the city of Ballard, Washington

Ballard, Seattle, Washington

Ballard is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of Seattle, Washington. To the north it is bounded by Crown Hill, ; to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont ; to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. The neighborhood’s...

 (incorporated in 1890) which was later annexed to the growing city of Seattle, Washington in 1907.

William Rankin Ballard was born to Levi Ward Ballard (founder of Auburn, Washington

Auburn, Washington

-Parks:Auburn has an extensive system of parks, open space and urban trails comprising 29 developed parks, 5 undeveloped sites under planning, 2 skate parks, 2 water roatary parks, and over of trails , and almost of open space for passive and active recreation.-Environmental Park:The Auburn...

) and Phoebe Anne McConnell August 12, 1847 in Perrysburg

Perrysburg, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,945 people, 6,592 households, and 4,561 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,899.2 people per square mile . There were 6,964 housing units at an average density of 780.5 per square mile...

, Wood County

Wood County, Ohio

Wood County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 125,488. Its county seat is Bowling Green. The county was named for Captain Eleazer D. Wood, the engineer for General William Henry Harrison's army, who built Fort Meigs in the War of 1812...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 He married Estella Thorndike on November 12, 1882 in Seattle, and died in Seattle February 4, 1929.

The title Captain derives from his command of the boat Zephyr

Zephyr (steamboat)

-Career:Zephyr was built in 1871 for the famous steamboat captain Tom Wright. In 1872, the Merchants Transportation Company of Olympia was formed, with Zephyr becoming the company's first steamboat...

 that operated between Seattle and Olympia

Olympia, Washington

Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...

 to the south.

Ballard High School was named for Capt. Ballard.