Geist, Walter 1894 - 1951 | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Geist, Walter 1894 - 1951

Geist, Walter 1894 - 1951 | Wisconsin Historical Society
manufacturer, inventor, industrialist, b. Milwaukee. Self-educated, Geist began his career as a messenger boy in the blueprint department of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. He was assistant manager of the milling-machine department (1913-1933), general sales manager (1933-1936), vice-president (1936-1942), and president, director, and member of the executive board (1942-1951). He was the inventor of the multiple V-belt drive for textile machinery, and was a director of the York Corporation, the First Wisconsin National Bank, the First Wisconsin Trust Co., the Wisconsin Bankshares Corporation, and the Chicago and Northwestern R.R. Who's Who in Amer., 26 (1950); Milwaukee Journal, Jan. 30, 1951; N.Y. Times, Jan. 30, 1951.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]