William Chapman Ralston

William "Billy" Chapman Ralston (January 12, 1826 – August 27, 1875) was a San Francisco, California businessman and financier, and was the founder of the Bank of California.

William Chapman Ralston was born at Wellsville in Columbiana County in eastern Ohio, Mary Wilcoxen Chapman. He was known as "Chap" when he was young.

With riches derived from Nevada's , he became one of the richest and most powerful men in California. He founded the Bank of California and was known for having a nothing-is-impossible attitude.

He built Ralston Hall in Belmont, California as a summer home. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is now part of the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University.

He built the California Theatre on Bush Street in San Francisco, which opened on January 18, 1869.

His dream was the construction of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California at the corner of New Montgomery and Market. He spent $5M on its construction, draining his banking empire in the process. John Painter Gaynor was the architect and engineer. It opened on October 2, 1875. The hotel had early elevators or "rising rooms" and electric call buttons in the rooms. The hotel survived the 1906 earthquake, but was destroyed in the fire that followed. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1909. There is still a Ralston Room in the hotel off the main corridor to the left.

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