Lewis Abbot Lapham (March 7, 1909 – December 20, 1995) was an American shipping and banking executive.

Life and career

Lapham was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Helen (Abbott) and shipping executive and future

Mayor of San Francisco The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...

Roger D. Lapham, and the grandson of entrepreneur

Lewis Henry Lapham Lewis Henry Lapham (March 13, 1858 – June 10, 1934) was an American entrepreneur who made a fortune consolidating smaller business in the leather industry. He was also one of the founders of Texaco Oil Company. Biography Lapham was born in ...

. Lapham attended the

Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a coeducational University-preparatory school#North America, preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. Hotchkiss is a member of the Eight Schools Association and Ten Schools Admissions Organization. It i ...

and went on to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, graduating in 1931. At Yale, he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. Roger Lapham was a founder of the

Cypress Point Club Cypress Point Club is a private Country club, golf club located in Pebble Beach, California, at the northern end of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast. Its single 18-hole course has been named as one of the finest in golf, best know ...

golf course. In 1929, father (Roger) and son (Lewis) played a foursome there with Bobby Jones and

Francis Ouimet Francis DeSales Ouimet () (May 8, 1893 – September 2, 1967) was an American amateur golfer who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the U.S. Open in 1913 and was the first non-Briton elected ...

. This attracted a large crowd and frayed the nerves of the 20-year-old Lewis. After one successful shot by Lewis, Bobby Jones loudly asked which

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Wood (golf), Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; iron (golf), irons, the most versatile class ...

Lewis had used. Bobby Jones continued to solicit Lewis's advice in front of the crowd until the younger Lapham's confidence was restored. Nicholas Payne Lapham is the son of Anthony A. Lapham. Lapham worked as a journalist, columnist, and editor for the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' for six years. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was civilian executive assistant to the general in command of the

San Francisco Port of Embarkation The San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for movement of supplies and troops to and from the Pacific during World War II with extensive facilities in the San Francisco area. SFPOE was established ...

. From 1945 to 1946 he was president of the Pacific American Steamship Association. Lewis Henry Lapham was a founding investor of the

American-Hawaiian Steamship Company The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company was founded in 1899 to carry cargos of sugar from Hawaii to the United States and manufactured goods back to Hawaii. Brothers-in-law George Dearborn and Lewis Henry Lapham were the key players in the foun ...

in 1899 and Roger Lapham served as its president until he stepped down in 1944 to run for Mayor. Lewis Lapham became its last president in 1947. Miscalculating future shipping rates, the company bought six new ships, but soon losses forced them to suspend shipping in 1953. Billionaire Daniel Ludwig was brought in as an investor and Lapham resigned and his family sold their holdings to Ludwig, who gained control of the company and eventually liquidated it. Lapham became executive vice president of the

Grace Line W. R. Grace and Co. is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes catalysts and related products and technologies ...

and in 1955 became its president. He realized that

J. Peter Grace Joseph Peter Grace Jr. (May 25, 1913 – April 19, 1995) was an American industrialist who was president of the diversified chemical company, W. R. Grace & Co., for 48 years, making him the longest serving CEO of a public company. Born in Manhas ...

was determined to get

W. R. Grace and Company W. R. Grace and Co. is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes catalysts and related products and technologies ...

out of the shipping industry (Grace sold the Grace Line in 1969), so he left the company and the shipping business in 1959. He joined

Bankers Trust Company Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. Deutsche Bank sold the Trust and Custody division of Bankers Trust to State Street Corpor ...

and served in a variety of executive and board positions until 1981. Lapham was married to Jane Foster for 63 years. They had two sons,

Lewis H. Lapham Lewis Henry Lapham (; born January 8, 1935) is an American writer. He was the editor of the American monthly ''Harper's Magazine'' from 1976 until 1981, and from 1983 until 2006. He is the founder of ''Lapham's Quarterly'', a quarterly publicat ...

, long-time editor of ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', and Anthony A. Lapham, a lawyer for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapham, Lewis Abbot 1909 births 1995 deaths American bankers Yale University alumni Hotchkiss School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople