Henry Babson

Who was Henry Babson?

Henry B. Babson was an entrepreneur, investor in phonograph technology, and notable breeder of Arabian horses. He first moved to Chicago at the age of 17 at the urging of inventor Leon F. Douglass. While working at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, better known as the Chicago World Fair, Babson first encountered purebred Arabian horses brought from the Middle East for exhibition, and decided that some day he would own such horses for himself.

Though Babson himself was not an inventor, he became wealthy by selling innovative products, particularly the Victor Phonograph, and was acquainted with inventors like Leon Douglass and Thomas Edison. He made many successful business decisions based on new designs or technologies, choosing, for example, to sell a new design of milking machine, or investing in new phonograph companies. However, his interest in the new, innovative, and beautiful was particularly reflected in his personal life. He hired the famous architect, Louis Sullivan to design his country estate, enjoyed racing custom sailboats, and, in the 1930s, began to import Arabian horses to the United States.