James T. Bates


James Tuttle Bates was an American businessman who founded the daily newspaper Tribune de Genève on 1 February 1879.

Early life

Bates was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a son of shipowner Joseph C. Bates and Abigail Bates.
He enlisted at age 17 in the Union army, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel at age 21.

Career

After the war, Bates became a stockbroker in New York City. After making a fortune, he moved to Geneva, Switzerland, the hometown of his wife, in 1875. Soon after moving, he acquired the newspaper The Continental Herald and Swiss Times in 1876, which shortly thereafter became the daily Tribune de Genève on 1 February 1879.
In 1887, he founded the "Union Bank", which was absorbed into the Union Bank of Switzerland in 1919.

Personal life

On 8 December 1873, he married Amélie Chenevière, the daughter of Geneva State Councilor Arthur Chenevière and the former Susanne Firmine Munier. Together, they were the parents of six children, five of whom lived to maturity, including:
On 2 March 1903, he married Henriette Pictet in Geneva. Henriette, the widow of Léonce Pictet, was a daughter of Jacques Louis Aimé Baron.
He was a founder and an active member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, also known as the "American Church" of Geneva.
Bates died in Geneva on 24 December 1914. His widow died in 1943.