Dean Gooding Witter (August 2, 1887May 25, 1969) was an American businessman, stockbroker, and investor. With his brother Guy Witter and cousin Jean Witter, Dean Witter co-founded Dean Witter & Company in 1924, which became the largest investment house on the West Coast. Witter's family had moved to Northern California from

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, an ...

, settling in

San Carlos, California San Carlos ( Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1769, the land of San Carlos was occu ...

in 1891. Witter graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

in 1909. At Berkeley, Witter was a member of the

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a ...

fraternity, and was a distinguished rower. Upon graduation, Witter worked as a salesman for Louis Sloss & Company.Dean Witter Foundation
In 1914, Witter partnered with Charles R. Blyth to found Blyth, Witter & Co., a San Francisco-based brokerage. Witter left the partnership to found his own company, Dean Witter & Company, in 1924. With its original offices at 45 Montgomery Street in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, Dean Witter would be among the largest West Coast brokerage firms in the U.S. Among Witter's original partners were his brother Guy and their cousins Jean C. Witter and Ed Witter as well as Fritz Janney. In its early years, Dean Witter focused on dealing in municipal and corporate bonds. The company was highly successful in its first five years, purchasing a seat on the

San Francisco Stock Exchange The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange was a regional stock exchange based in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1882, in 1928 the exchange purchased and began using the name San Francisco Stock Exchange, while the old San Fran ...

in 1928 and then opening an office in New York and purchasing a seat on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

in 1929. Although a relatively young company, Dean Witter survived

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, posting profits every year during the 1930s and into the 1940s. Dean Witter would lead his company until his death in 1969.

References

External links

The Dean Witter Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witter, Dean G. 1887 births 1969 deaths American financiers American financial company founders American investment bankers American stockbrokers Businesspeople from California Businesspeople from Wisconsin People from San Carlos, California People from Wausau, Wisconsin University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American businesspeople