Isaac Bell, Jr.

Who was Isaac Bell, Jr.?

Isaac Bell, Jr. was an American businessman and diplomat.

He was born in New York City, New York, the son of steamboat owner Isaac Bell. In 1878, he married Jeanette Gordon Bennett, daughter of New York Herald founder James Gordon Bennett, Sr., and sister of publisher James Gordon Bennett, Jr.. They had three children ; Valentine Mott Bell, Olivia Bell, and Isaac Bell III.

He was a successful cotton broker and investor. He was one of the key investors in the Commercial Cable Company that broke the Transatlantic cable monopoly.

In 1883, he built the Isaac Bell House, one of the famous Gilded Age summer “cottages” in Newport, Rhode Island. The house, designed by McKim, Mead, and White, is considered of the best remaining examples of Shingle Style architecture. In New York, he owned a unit in one of New York City’s first cooperative duplex apartment buildings, the "Knickerbocker".

He was active in Rhode Island politics as a Democrat. President Grover Cleveland appointed him the U.S. Minister to the Netherlands, and he served from 1885-88. He was also a delegate to the 1888 Democratic National Convention.