Harry B. Brock Jr. (March 31, 1925 – July 29, 2015) was an American banker and philanthropist.

Early life

Harry B. Brock Jr. was born on March 31, 1925, in

Fort Payne, Alabama Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. It is near Lookout Mountain. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877. This city developed around a fort of the same name, built in the 183 ...

.Alabama Business Hall of Fame

/ref> He grew up in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statist ...

. He graduated from the

Tennessee Military Institute Tennessee Military Institute (TMI) was a military academy in Sweetwater, Tennessee. Sweetwater Military College The school was founded as Sweetwater Military College in 1874 by J. Lynn Bachman, a Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a hist ...

and served in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1944 to 1946. He then graduated from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce and Business Administration in 1949. In 1964, he earned a certificate from the American Institute of Banking.

Career

Back in Gadsden, Brock first worked as a truck driver for the Brook-Martin Oil Company. He later worked as a car salesman with John Thomas Motors of Gadsden. In 1964, he co-founded the Central Bank and Trust Company (later known as Compass Bank, eventually

BBVA Compass BBVA USA was a bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from 2007 until 2021, when it was acquired by PNC Financial Services. It operated mainly in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, ...

).Samford University
/ref>Crystal Jarvis

''Birmingham Business Journal'', March 23, 2008 In 1968, together with other investors, he gained voting control of the State National Bank of Alabama. In 1981, he merged the two banks. By 1987, Central Bancshares of the South was the first bank in Alabama to own a bank in another state. He retired from the Board of Directors in 1991. He served on the Board of Directors of Marathon Industries and the Daniel International Corporation (now merged with the

Fluor Corporation Fluor Corporation is an American engineering and construction firm, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in three main areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure, government ...

). He served on the Board of the Alabama Alliance of Business and Industry. He was inducted into the

Alabama Academy of Honor The Alabama Academy of Honor recognizes one hundred living Alabamians for outstanding accomplishments and services to Alabama and the United States. . By act of the Alabama Legislature, only one hundred living people may be members at any time. Up ...

in 1983 and the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 1993. He also became an honoree of the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame in 1999.

Philanthropy

Brock sat on the Board of Trustees of

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

, where the Brock School of Business is named in his honor. He has also served on the President's Cabinet at his alma mater, the University of Alabama. He has served on the board of the Southern Research Institute and the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation. He has also volunteered for

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

Personal life and death

He married Jane in 1949, shortly after he graduated from college. They have three children, Stanley M. Brock; Barrett Brock MacKay; and Harry B. Brock III. Brock died on July 29, 2015.Phillips, Ryan (July 30, 2015
Birmingham banking legend dies
''Birmingham Business Journal''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brock, Harry B., Jr. 1925 births 2015 deaths People from Fort Payne, Alabama Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama University of Alabama alumni American bankers Samford University 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists