Robert Somers Brookings Biography

Robert Somers Brookings

With little formal education, he established himself as a St. Louis businessman first in manufacturing, then real estate, lumber, and transportation. He later became a patron of the arts and retired from business in 1896 to pursue philanthropic interests, including Washington University (St. Louis) and the Brookings Institute, founded in 1916 to provide funding for the study of current political and economic problems.