Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley

Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley (June 20, 1803 – February 13, 1872[1]) was an American business executive, politician, and first president of the Aetna Insurance Company.

Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley
Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives
In office
1857–1857
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives for East Haddam
In office
1834–1838
Member of the Connecticut Senate for the 19th District
In office
1838–1840
Personal details
BornJune 20, 1803
Colchester, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedFebruary 13, 1872 (age 69)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma materYale University (B.A., JD)

Life and career

Bulkeley was born June 20, 1803 in Colchester, Connecticut, the son of Sarah (Taintor) and John Charles Bulkeley. He attended Bacon Academy. Bulkeley earned his Bachelor's and law degree from Yale University and practicing law in Lebanon, Connecticut and Selma, Alabama. Bulkeley later moved to East Haddam, Connecticut, where he worked as a banker, town representative, member and Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, state's attorney, and judge.[2] Bulkeley became the president of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, founded in 1846, the first life insurance company in Connecticut.[3]

In 1847, Bulkeley became director and general counsel of the Aetna Insurance Company. In 1850, when a subsidiary, Annuity Fund, was formed to sell life insurance, Bulkeley was named its administrative head.

When Annuity Fund was reorganized in 1853 as the Aetna Life Insurance Company, Bulkeley became its first president. When the Panic of 1857 caused many Aetna stockholders to talk of dissolving the company, Bulkeley refused. In 1861, the industry again suffered a downturn; rather than pull back, however, Bulkeley embarked on a more aggressive marketing campaign which proved prescient when interest in life insurance soared during the war, and Aetna became one of America's leading life insurance companies.[4] Bulkeley had two children, Charles and Morgan. Charles died in the Civil War, and Morgan Bulkeley served as Mayor of Hartford, Governor of Connecticut, and U.S. Senator from Connecticut.[5]

Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley gravestone in Cedar Hill Cemetery

Bulkeley died on February 13, 1872 in Hartford, Connecticut.[4]

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References
  1. Yale Obituary Record, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University, February 1871, p. 52
  2. "Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley" (PDF). www.cga.ct.gov. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  3. "Aetna At-A-Glance: Aetna History Archived 2006-12-08 at the Wayback Machine", Aetna company information
  4. "Aetna Legends -- Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley", Aetna, April 4, 2003
  5. "Morgan Bulkeley". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
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