Newberry, Walter Loomis (1804-1868), was an American businessman and philanthropist. He left about half of his fortune to found the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Newberry was born on Sept. 18, 1804, in East (now South) Windsor, Connecticut. His family moved to Oneida County, New York, when he was less than a year old. He only completed secondary school. In 1830, Newberry went to work in his brother’s dry goods store in Detroit. The store was destroyed by fire in 1832, and the brothers moved to Chicago in 1833. There, Walter made a fortune in real estate. He died on Nov. 6, 1868, while sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to France. The Newberry Library was founded in 1887. Its first building was completed in 1893.
