Hornblower & Weeks

Hornblower & Weeks

Company type	Private
Industry	Investment banking, Brokerage
Founded	August 7, 1888 (1888-08-07)
Founder	Henry Hornblower, John W. Weeks
Fate	Merged with Loeb, Rhoades & Co. in 1977 to form Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co.
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Area served	United States, Europe
Key people	Henry Hornblower, John W. Weeks, Jansen Noyes Jr.
Number of employees	Not specified

Hornblower & Weeks was a prominent investment banking and brokerage company established in 1888 by Henry Hornblower and John W. Weeks. During its zenith in the late 1970s, it ranked eighth among New York Stock Exchange member firms based on the number of retail branches, operating 93 offices across the United States and Europe.

The firm was instrumental in providing financial backing to leading automobile manufacturers in the early 1900s, including Dodge Motors, General Motors, and Hudson Motor Car Company.

By the 1970s, under the names Hornblower & Weeks, Hemphill, Noyes and subsequently Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask, it was acquired by Loeb, Rhoades & Co., resulting in the creation of Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co..

Founding and early history

Hornblower & Weeks was founded on August 7, 1888, as a continuation of Hornblower & Page, a firm originally started by Edward Thomas Hornblower, Henry Hornblower's father.

Henry Hornblower entered his father's business in 1879 at age sixteen. Born June 6, 1863, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, he came from a distinguished Boston family with a well-established regional presence.

Following the passing of Augustus A. Page in 1888 and Edward Hornblower’s retirement due to blindness, Henry Hornblower joined forces with John Weeks to establish the new enterprise. Their initial office was located at 51 State Street, staffed by a single clerk named James J. Phelan, who later became a partner until his death in 1934. In 1889, they acquired a seat on the New York Stock Exchange for $19,000 and moved into the Merchant’s Bank Building on Devonshire Street. After weathering the Panic of 1893, they expanded into larger quarters on the second floor of the Exchange Building at 53 State Street.

1900-1950

By the turn of the century in 1900, the firm’s net assets had reached $400,000 and grew to $800,000 by 1902. Between 1903 and 1904, founding partner John W. Weeks orchestrated the merger of the First National Bank of Boston with the National Bank of Redemption, forming New England’s largest bank. The company broadened its footprint in 1907 by opening offices in Providence and Chicago and launching a Bond department. It was also among the pioneering Wall Street firms to create a Statistical and Research Department.

In 1913, Ralph Hornblower—son of Henry Hornblower—became a partner as John W. Weeks retired to serve in the U.S. Senate. Weeks was influential in establishing the Federal Reserve System in 1914 and later held office as U.S. Secretary of War.

The firm emerged from the 1929 stock market crash with only modest capital losses outside its syndicate operations but contracted during the Great Depression. Capital peaked at more than $16 million in 1930 before experiencing significant reductions afterward. During the 1930s, Hornblower expanded through acquisitions such as merging with G.M.-P. Murphy & Co., recognized for financing major aviation enterprises like Pan American Airways, United Air Lines, Boeing, and Lockheed.

By mid-century, Henry Hornblower II and Ralph Hornblower Jr. had joined as partners within the firm.

Growth and consolidation from 1950 to 1977

In 1953, Hornblower & Weeks expanded its national presence by merging with the Chicago-based Paul H. Davis & Co. This growth was further enhanced with the acquisition of cotton brokerage Scatterty & Jones, which introduced offices in the Southern United States and increased the total number of locations to 19 across the country. Two years later, in 1955, the firm absorbed Reed & Company of Worcester.

Throughout the 1960s, the company experienced swift growth, establishing 30 offices spanning coast to coast and securing memberships on all major U.S. stock exchanges by 1963.

A significant merger occurred in 1963 with Hemphill, Noyes & Co., resulting in the combined entity being named Hornblower & Weeks, Hemphill, Noyes. Hemphill, Noyes & Co., founded in 1919 by Jansen Noyes and Clifford Hemphill, contributed strong leadership, with Jansen Noyes Jr. assuming the chairman role in 1968. Following this, the acquisition of Spencer Trask & Co. led to another rebranding as Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask. At this point, Hornblower was ranked eighth among New York Stock Exchange member firms based on retail office numbers, operating a network of 93 offices throughout the United States and Europe.

Disposition of Hornblower

In January 1977, a merger between Loeb, Rhoades & Co. and Hornblower, Weeks, Noyes & Trask created Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co.. However, the integration faced significant challenges due to expensive back-office system consolidations on both sides. By late 1978—less than a year after merging—the combined firm was suffering multimillion-dollar financial losses.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Sanford I. Weill pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy of brokerage firms and by 1979 led Shearson Hayden Stone after nearly a dozen acquisitions. Early in 1979, amid financial difficulties, Loeb Rhoades Hornblower agreed over Mothers Day Weekend to merge with Shearson, forming Shearson Loeb Rhoades. Sanford Weill became CEO while John Loeb took on the chairman position of what became one of the largest investment banking organizations with $250 million in equity capital.

Subsequent developments

Following its merger with Shearson, the Hornblower name was retired from use. In 1981, Sanford Weill sold the combined entity to American Express, resulting in the creation of Shearson/American Express.

Shortly thereafter, Ralph Hornblower Jr. together with Ralph (Ray) Hornblower III founded Hornblower & Company, establishing offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Merger history

The firm's mergers and its involvement in successor organizations include: