William Joseph Graham (September 23, 1877 - February 11, 1963) was an American insurance executive,''Who's who in Commerce and Industry,'' Volume 8. 1953. p. 517Society of Actuaries, ''Transactions.'' Volume 15, Part 1. 1963. p. 221 who was Vice President of

The Equitable Life Assurance Society The Equitable Life Assurance Society (Equitable Life), founded in 1762, is a life insurance company in the United Kingdom. The world's oldest mutual insurer, it pioneered age-based premiums based on mortality rate, laying "the framework for sc ...

of the United States. He is known as "father of

group insurance Group insurance is an insurance that covers a group of people, for example the members of a society or professional association, or the employees of a particular employer for the purpose of taking insurance. Group coverage can help reduce the proble ...

," and as past-president of the

American Management Association The American Management Association (AMA) is an American non-profit educational membership organization for the promotion of management, based in New York City. Besides its headquarters there, it has local head offices throughout the world. It ...

.''Journal of American Insurance.'' 1930. p. 13.

Biography

Youth, education and early career

Graham was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

in 1877, son of William Thompson Graham Sr. and Anna Eulalla (MrDonogh) Graham. After attending St. Xavier College in Louisville, he obtained his MA from St. Francis Xavier's College, now

Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

, in New York.Annual cyclopedia of insurance in the United States
" 1922. New York : R.B. Caverly, Publisher. p. 525 In 1898 Graham started his career in the insurance business at the Sun Insurance Company of America as actuary. In the same year he joined the Associate of the Actuarial Society of America, where he was elected fellow in 1902, and later a Charter Member of the Casualty. He also became an Associate of the British

Institute of Actuaries The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional bodies which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom. The institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland. While the Institute an ...

. In 1902 Graham joined the

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...

in New York, where in 1905 he was elected vice president and a director of the Northwestern National Life Insurance Company. In 1905 he also worked as consulting actuary. In cooperation with S. Herbert Wolfe he participated in the "investigation of the life insurance companies of New York conducted by a group of state insurance departments."

Later career and honours

In 1911 Graham joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society. From western superintendent of agencies, and superintendent of the Group Insurance Department, he was appointed second vice president of

in 1922. In 1929 he was elected vice-president and in 1937 a member of the Equitable's board of directors. He retired from the Equitable in 1948, and served on its board until 1958. In 1930 Graham had been elected president of the

, which he co-founded. In 1938 the Hobart College awarded Graham an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

Personal

Graham died at the age of 85, in 1963, in the Southside Hospital in

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

at Long Island.

Selected publications

* Graham, William Joseph.
The romance of life insurance; its past, present and future, with particular reference to the epochal investigation era of 1905-1908
'' Chicago, The World to-day company. ;Articles, a selection * W.J. Graham,
Impressions of the Pittsburgh Convention
" in: ''Management Review,'' Volumes 9-10, 1922. p. 3-6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, William Joseph 1877 births 1963 deaths American actuaries American business executives People from Louisville, Kentucky Presidents of the American Management Association