George Higginson (1804-1889)

In 1848, with his cousin he co-founded the noted investment bank of Lee, Higginson & Co. with offices at 47 State Street in Boston. The firm Lee, Higginson & Co. went on to help finance the growth of several iconic American companies such as General Motors, AT&T and General Electric. It eventually collapsed over the Swedish Match Scandal of 1932 having invested in a global match-manufacturing empire created by Ivar Krueger who turned out to be a crook. The scandal was the catalyst for sweeping reforms in the U.S. securities and banking sectors. After Lee, Higginson’s downfall, the head of its Chicago office, William McCormick Blair, co-founded the firm now known as William Blair & Company.