Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley (June 20, 1803 – February 13, 1872) was an American business executive, politician, and first president of the

Aetna Insurance Company Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

Life and career

Bulkeley was born June 20, 1803, in

Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildli ...

, the son of Sarah (Taintor) and John Charles Bulkeley. He attended Bacon Academy. Bulkeley earned his Bachelor's and law degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and practiced law in Lebanon, Connecticut and Selma, Alabama. Bulkeley later moved to

East Haddam, Connecticut East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census. History Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk, the Mohegan and the N ...

, where he worked as a banker, town representative, member and Speaker of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

, state's attorney, and judge. Bulkeley became the president of the

Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, also known as MassMutual, is a Springfield, Massachusetts-based life insurance company. MassMutual provides financial products such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care ...

, founded in 1846, the first life insurance company in Connecticut.Aetna At-A-Glance: Aetna History
", Aetna company information In 1847, Bulkeley became director and general counsel of the Aetna Insurance Company. In 1850, when a subsidiary, Annuity Fund, was formed to sell life insurance, Bulkeley was named its administrative head. When Annuity Fund was reorganized in 1853 as the Aetna Life Insurance Company, Bulkeley became its first president. When the Panic of 1857 caused many Aetna stockholders to talk of dissolving the company, Bulkeley refused. In 1861, the industry again suffered a downturn; rather than pull back, however, Bulkeley embarked on a more aggressive marketing campaign which proved prescient when interest in life insurance soared during the war, and Aetna became one of America's leading life insurance companies.Aetna Legends -- Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley
, Aetna, April 4, 2003 Bulkeley had at least five children, possibly as many as seven. Sources indicate that two children died in childbirth. Mary Morgan died at the age of four (1831-1835). Charles (1835-1864) died in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and

Morgan Bulkeley Morgan Gardner Bulkeley (December 26, 1837 – November 6, 1922) was an American politician, businessman, and sports executive. A Republican, he served in the American Civil War, and became a Hartford bank president before becoming the third p ...

(1837-1922) served as Mayor of Hartford,

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

, and U.S. Senator from Connecticut. Bulkeley had two other children. Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley gravestone

Bulkeley died on February 13, 1872, in Hartford, Connecticut.

References

1804 births 1872 deaths 19th-century American politicians Aetna employees American bankers Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) Connecticut state senators People from Colchester, Connecticut Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives Yale Law School alumni Bacon Academy alumni 19th-century American businesspeople {{Connecticut-politician-stub