James Parker Hall was born on February 26, 1906. His father, James Parker Hall, Sr., was an authority on constitutional law and was dean of the University of Chicago Law School from 1904 to 1928. Hall Jr. attended University High School, and began at the University of Chicago in September 1923. He received a Ph.B on June 14, 1927. While at the University of Chicago, Hall was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Hall left Chicago for Harvard University, where he received a masters degree in finance from the Harvard Business School.
Hall was president of the University of Chicago Alumni Club of New York and a member of the Alumni Foundation Board. He was appointed Treasurer of the University of Chicago in 1946 after seventeen years of experience on Wall Street in securities, investment banking, and stock and bond brokerage businesses. He was head of research and statistical analysis at Clark, Dodge and Company, and was also associated with A. Iselin and Company from 1933 to 1935 and with J. Seligman and Company from 1929 to 1933.
Hall married Frances Lewis. The couple had three sons.
From the guide to the Hall, James Parker, Jr. Papers, 1923-1926, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)
