Hernán Behn

Hernand Behn was born February 19, 1880, in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands.[1] He and his family became United States citizens in 1917, when the U.S. acquired the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $30 million.[2] With his brother, he co-founded Puerto Rico Telephone Company, then ITT.[3][4]

Educated in Corsica and Paris, he was of French, Danish, English and Dutch ancestry.[5] He later became a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve.[1] With his wife, Helen, he had four children,[6] including a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, who worked for ITT. Educated at Taft, Hernand Behn carried on his father's name at ITT. His mother and uncle were in attendance at his 1940 wedding at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.[7]

Behn and his brother, Sosthenes, built the Dos Hermanos Bridge (Spanish: Puente Dos Hermanos, English: Two Brothers Bridge), in San Juan. The bridge links the districts of Condado and Old San Juan.[8]

With his brother, he co-founded ITT Inc. in 1920,[6] leading the company as its first president,[9] until 1933,[10] having grown its assets to over $500 million.[11] Sosthenes was a second vice-president,[9] later becoming the company chairman, following Hernand's death in 1933,[1] and growing ITT into an international conglomerate that was later split into three companies, in 1995.[12]

He died October 7, 1933, of "alimentary disorders" in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France.[5][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. J.T. White. 1971. p. 7.
  2. ^ "International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation | The Telecommunications History Group, Inc". www.telcomhistory.org. Retrieved 2026-03-03.
  3. ^ "Hernán Behn y Sosthenes Behn". Umbral (Universidad de Puerto Rico) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  4. ^ Morales Cortés, Ramón. Telecommunications in Puerto Rico Archived 2018-09-30 at the Wayback Machine (paper). New York, USA: Virtual Institute of Information.
  5. ^ a b "Milestones, Oct. 16, 1933". Time. October 16, 1933. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  6. ^ a b Bachrach, Fabian (1957-06-07). "Sosthenes Behn Is Dead at 75; Headed I.T. & T. for 34 Years; Co-Founder and Ex-President of Communications Empire Was Expert on Finance Twenty Years of Trials Defeated Competition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-03.
  7. ^ "MISS LAGARRIGUE WED; French Girl Bride of Hernand Behn in St. Patrick's Cathedral". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  8. ^ Morawski, Erica (2025-11-04). Development Design: Hotels and Politics in the Hispanic Caribbean. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-8229-9205-9.
  9. ^ a b The Cuba Review: Direct Telephone Line Between Cuba and the United States,. Vol. XIX. New York City: Munson Steamship Line. January 1921. p. 16.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ^ "HERNAND BEHN LEFT ESTATE OF $278,516; Telephone Official's Brother Receives Residue After $25,000 to Widow". The New York Times. p. 9. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  11. ^ "Hernand Behn - Leadership - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2026-03-03.
  12. ^ "ITT Corporation". Britannica.com. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  13. ^ Corporation, International Telephone and Telegraph (1931). Annual Report. The Corporation.


People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

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