Robert B. Stearns (1888-1954) was a prominent American financier. He co-founded investment bank

Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York-based global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The com ...

in 1923.

Early life

Stearns was born in 1888 to Virginia (née Michaels) and Issac Stern, founder of

Stern's Stern's (originally Stern Brothers) was a regional department store chain serving the U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The chain was in business for more than 130 years. In 2001, Stern's parent company Federated Depart ...

Department Stores. He graduated from

Phillips Academy, Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = M ...

in 1906 and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

in 1910. He may have changed his name when he enrolled at Andover, whose headmaster at the time was Alfred Stearns.

Wall Street career

After working some years in Europe, Stearns worked at the brokerage J.J. Danzig & Co. before founding

with partners

Joseph Ainslie Bear Joseph Ainslie Bear (May 28, 1878 – July 13, 1955) was an American banker who co-founded the investment bank Bear Stearns. Biography Bear was born to a Jewish family on May 28, 1878 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was educated in France, Germany, ...

and Harold C. Mayer in 1923. He became a member of the New York Curb Exchange, later the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...

in 1929, and would eventually be its chairman.

Death

Stearns married twice. His first wife was Bernice Marks, daughter of Manhattan Borough President, Marcus M. Marks; they had three children, Veronica Stearns Lamy (married to actor Douglas N. Lamy), Pamela Stearns Baron, and Roland B. Stearns, before divorcing. His second wife was Margaret Allen. Stearns died at

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fac ...

in Manhattan on 14 December 1954, aged 66.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Robert B. 1888 births 1954 deaths American bankers American Jews American people of German-Jewish descent Phillips Academy alumni Bear Stearns people