Bobb, Dwight S., 1876-1946

Dates

• Existence: 1876 - 1946

Biography

Dwight St. John Bobb was born on July 19, 1876 in Dakota, Illinois, the son of Daniel Bobb, a physician, and his wife Arminda St. John. He received his secondary education at the College of Northern Illinois, while also teaching two terms of second grade and tutoring high school classmates. Bobb entered Northwestern University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the fall of 1895, where he focused on studies in political economy. While at Northwestern, Bobb was involved with the Rogers Debate Club, the junior class play, and Deutsche Gelleschaft, the German society on campus. He also led an effort to try to unify the various debate societies of Northwestern, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Following his graduation from Northwestern, Bobb spent the summer of 1899 as acting editor of Municipal Affairs, an academic journal that explored solutions to pressing urban problems of the time period. In the following fall, he began his studies at Harvard University on a scholarship provided by the Harvard Club of Chicago. He pursued a master’s degree in political economy and upon completion of that program was offered the Henry Lee Memorial Fellowship at Harvard. However, Bobb declined the scholarship, instead enrolling at Harvard Law School, taking his law degree in 1903. While pursuing his post-graduate degrees, Bobb also spent time as an instructor, teaching courses on American political and constitutional history at Harvard and its sister institution Radcliffe College. After leaving Harvard, Bobb began practicing law with Matz, Fisher, and Boyden. Later, he became a founding partner in a number of law firms including Adams, Bobb & Adams; Adams, Crews, Bobb & Westcott; and Sanders, Childs, Bobb & Westcott. He held other positions as well including Master of the Chancery in the Circuit Court of Cook County (Illinois), and lecturer on public service corporations at Northwestern University School of Law. Dwight St. John Bobb died on June 18, 1946, survived by his wife Sonia A. Bobb. He bequeathed $55,000 to Northwestern to support scholarship programs for chemical research and debate programs. In honor of his contributions, Northwestern dedicated a campus dormitory as Bobb Hall in 1955.

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