Biography
According to a written statement by his son Roland L. Oliver, William Letts Oliver "was born in Valparaiso, Chile, August 6, 1844. [He] was educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, graduated from Edinburgh University as a mining engineer, and then went back to Chile. [In 1861, he went] to Peru, then to San Francisco in 1868 in time for the big earthquake of that year." His experience with nitrates led him to establish the California Cap Company, an explosives business in the East Bay (of the San Francisco Bay Area). In addition, he also owned a company that manufactured the Doak stationary engine used to power pumps on horse-drawn fire engines. He resided Oakland until his death in 1918.
Oliver "belonged to both the S[an] F[rancisco] Yacht Club and Corinthian Yacht Club taking a very active part in both." As the Maritime series of this photograph collection demonstrates, he was an avid sailor, and participated in, and won, may yacht races in the Bay Area.
He was also a member of the Bohemian Club and the Pacific Coast Amateur Photographic Association.
From the guide to the Oliver Family Photograph Collections, (The Bancroft Library.)
