Henry Walters

Henry Walters
Henry Walters in 1886 by French artist Paul Adolphe Rajon.
Born	Henry Walters September 26, 1848
Died	November 30, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore
Residence	New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Known for	Art Collector
Parent(s)	William Thompson Walters (1820-1894) Ellen (Harper) Walters

Henry Walters (September 26, 1848–November 30, 1931) was noted as an art collector and philanthropist, a founder of the Walters Art Gallery (now the Walters Art Museum) in Baltimore, Maryland, which he donated to the city in his 1931 will for the benefit of the public. From the late 19th Century, Walters lived most of the time in New York City, where from 1903 on, he served on the executive committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue. He was selected as second vice president in 1913, a position he held until his death.

Like his father William Thompson Walters, (1820-1894), he was a businessman in the railroad industry, serving as president of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (1894-1902), which had been established by his father.

Henry Walters was born in 1848 to William Thompson Walters, (1820-1894), a businessman who later founded the southeastern railroad line, Atlantic Coast Line Company. Henry graduated from Georgetown University in 1869. He did graduate work in the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University from 1869–72.

In 1889 Walters moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, to serve as general manager of his father's railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Company. Following his father's death in 1894, Henry Walters was elected president of the Atlantic Coast Line Company. He transferred the line's headquarters to New York. Under his leadership, the railroad experienced rapid growth until World War I. In 1902 Walters also took control of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.