Robert Alonzo Welch (1872-1952) was a Texan investor who became very successful in the oil, sulfur, banking, and real estate industries in the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

area. Originally from South Carolina, he moved to Houston at the age of fourteen. He worked for the

Bute Paint Company The James Bute Company Warehouse, located at 711 William Street in Houston, Texas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 7, 1994. The Bute Paint Company, founded by James Bute, operated from 1867 until 1990. Its warehou ...

as bookkeeper starting in 1891 and rose through the ranks to be secretary-treasurer. He resigned from this post in 1927, but remained on the company's board of directors. In the early 1900s, Welch started investing in oil fields that was the start of his fortune. When he died, he left $25 million to a trust fund to support basic chemical research in Texas. This trust fund was later renamed the Robert A. Welch Foundation, and it is a major source of chemistry research funding in the state. According to his will, 15% of his estate ($7.5 million) was divided among his 29 employees.

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1872 births 1952 deaths Texas Oil Boom people Businesspeople from Houston {{US-business-bio-1870s-stub