William Richardson Belknap

William Richardson Belknap (March 28, 1849 – June 2, 1914), for 28 years was president of the Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company based in Louisville, Kentucky, one of the largest hardware American manufacturing companies and wholesale hardware companies of its time. Early life William Richardson Belknap was born in Louisville on March 28, 1849 to William Burke Belknap and Mary Richardson. His younger brother was Morris B. Belknap. He graduated from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School in 1869, and in 1873 he spent a year traveling in Europe with his younger brother Morris. Career In 1880, following the death of his father, founder of the Belknap company, he became its president. After his retirement as president of Belknap Hardware, he became the company's Chairman of the Board. Belknap was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The William R. Belknap School in the Belknap neighborhood of Louisville was named for him. He was a charter member of the Salmagundi Club and served for three years as its secretary. He was a trustee of Berea College, and the namesake and founder of the William R. Belknap Prizes awarded for excellence in the fields of geology and biology in Yale's Sheffield Scientific School.