Bernard A. Newcomb
| Bernard Alan Newcomb | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 10, 1943 Long Beach, California, USA |
| Residence | Palo Alto, California |
| Alma mater | Oregon State University |
| Occupation | former VP Engineering and co-founder of E*TRADE |
| Spouse(s) | Carol J. Kearney (1999-2001) |
| Partner(s) | Gerry Marshall (2003-present) |
Bernard (Bernie or Bing) Alan Newcomb is an American businessperson and philanthropist who, along with William A. Porter, founded the online discount stock brokerage firm, E*TRADE. Newcomb is legally blind.
Newcomb grew up in Scio, Oregon. He is the middle child of Lyle and Agnes Newcomb. Born with congenital cataracts, Newcomb has always been legally blind.
He attended the Oregon School for the Blind from kindergarten through second grade, having to board during the week and return home on weekends. He attended public schools in Scio through high school where he graduated as class valedictorian.
Newcomb was the first in his family to attend college as a business major at Oregon State University and consistently made dean's list and graduated third in his class in the College of Business. Newcomb received his B.A. in Business Administration from Oregon State University in 1965. He is a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. Upon graduation, he found that accounting firms and banks did not consider him employable because of his blindness. His college counselor persuaded General Electric to hire Newcomb in their data processing department at the Hanford Project in Richland, Washington, where he was employed for three years.
In 1980, in Palo Alto, California, Newcomb met Bill Porter who had recently purchased an Apple II computer with the idea that a personal computer could be used to buy and sell stock, but having no means of accessing the necessary information with his modem. During the conversation, Porter convinced Newcomb to become partners and create a company that would enable an individual with a personal computer to trade stocks from home—to disintermediate stock buying. Newcomb's role was to develop the programming for the project.
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