Ellis Wainwright

Ellis Wainwright was an American capitalist, brewer, art collector and socialite from St. Louis, Missouri. He was President of the St. Louis Brewing Company and Director of the St. Louis and Suburban Company. He is best known for the Wainwright Building in Downtown St. Louis which was one of the first skyscrapers in the world and one of the most important office buildings of the period.

Wainwright was born on August 3, 1850, and although the family hailed from Godfrey, Illinois, he grew up in nearby St Louis, where he also spent much of his adult life. The son of a prominent brewer and building contractor, an English immigrant named Samuel and Catherine Dorothy, Wainwright was an important figure in railway development in the region. In 1889, he consolidated his fathers Wainwright Brewery Company with a brewing syndicate and established the St. Louis Brewing Association.

Source: Wikipedia