George Herbert Walker

George Herbert "Bert" Walker Sr. was born on June 11, 1875, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a descendant of a Maryland family. Walker's father was David Davis Walker, a dry goods merchant based in Bloomington, Illinois, and his mother was Martha Adela (Beaky).

Walker received his early education at Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit boarding school located in England. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1897. During his time at university, he was also the amateur heavyweight boxing champion of Missouri, while studying law at Washington University School of Law.

In 1900, Walker established a banking and investment firm called G.H. Walker & Co. His family had developed numerous international banking relationships, which aided his career. He played a role in organizing the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Walker was involved in local Democratic Party politics and was considered a significant influence within the party.

Walker became president of W.A. Harriman & Co. in 1920. Under his leadership, the firm arranged credit for W. Averell Harriman to acquire control of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. He also helped organize the American Ship and Commerce Corporation as a subsidiary of W.A. Harriman & Co., with contractual authority over the Hamburg-Amerika operations. In 1927, W.A. Harriman & Co. was renamed Harriman Brothers & Company.

Afterward, Walker retired to his own firm, G.H. Walker & Co. He continued to serve as a director for various companies, including W.A. Harriman & Company, Harriman Fifteen, American International Corporation, Georgian Manganese Corporation, Barnsdall Corporation, Union Banking Corporation, Missouri Pacific Railroad, Laclede Gas, and the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad.

Walker was also involved in sports and recreation. He served as president of the United States Golf Association (USGA), and the Walker Cup, a notable biennial golf match, was named in his honor due to his role in its establishment. He was a member of Deepdale Golf Club and the National Golf Links of America, the site of the first Walker Cup. Additionally, in 1925, he co-headed a syndicate with W. Averell Harriman that reconstructed Madison Square Garden and the Belmont Race Track.

He was married to Lucretia Wear (1874–1961), daughter of James H. Wear. They had six children: Dorothy Wear Walker, George Herbert Walker Jr., Dr. John M. Walker Sr., James Wear Walker, Nancy Walker, and Louis Walker. His daughter Dorothy married Prescott Bush, who was a U.S. Senator and the father of President George H. W. Bush. Walker's brother-in-law was Joseph Walker Wear, a founder of the Davis Cup.

Walker maintained multiple residences, including an estate called Walker's Point in Kennebunkport, a mansion on Long Island, and a residence at One Sutton Place in Manhattan. In the 1930s, he purchased the Duncannon Plantation near Barnwell, South Carolina, as a private hunting retreat. In the 1940s, the property transitioned into a hunting club, with much of the land later acquired by the U.S. Government for the Savannah River Site.

George Herbert Walker Sr. died on June 24, 1953, in New York City at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife, his children, grandchildren—including George H. W. Bush, who became the 41st President of the United States—and several great-grandchildren, including George W. Bush and Jeb Bush.