Belknap, Robert Lenox, 1848-1896

Capitalist and financier of New York City.

Robert Lenox Belknap was born on July 23, 1848, the son of a New York lawyer. He graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in 1869 and an M.A. in 1872. In 1869 he entered the mercantile house of Fuller, Lord & Co. From 1871 to 1879 he was vice president of the Mercantile Loan & Warehouse Company, and from 1879 to 1888 he was treasurer of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. He was president of several Northern Pacific subsidiaries, including the Land & River Improvement Company, which developed the city of West Superior, Wis., the Northern Trust Company of West Superior, and the Duluth Gas & Water Company. He was later associated with several street railways and public utilities, including the Indianapolis & Broad Ripple Rapid Transit Company, the Seashore Electric Railway Company at Asbury Park, N.J., the Third Avenue Cable Railway Company in New York, and lines in Washington, D.C. Belknap was prominent in the National Guard movement, the Presbyterian Church, and a number of yacht and social clubs. He died in New York City on March 13, 1896.