Owen F. Aldis

In his career both as lawyer and as man of affairs, Owen F. Aldis was at once a pioneer and a conservative. His conservatism in political and his personal convictions was vigorous and outspoken. A pioneer in business, he brought eastern capital into a new western community, bought Chicago real estate and, in the early eighties, built skyscrapers which were innovations in their day and which have served as models to the city ever since. In his intellectual interest, in his study of early American and Provençal history, in his collection of American first editions, he was a pioneer in fields far less explored half a century ago than today.

As a business man he was extraordinarily punctilious in steering clear of any interest or commitment, however profitable, which by the most extreme stretch of possibility might affect what he considered his paramount duty, his duty towards his clients. He saw to it that he had high-quality products to sell, and emphasized their quality. But he did this, not with any cant about “service” or claim that his business was a mission for the benefit of mankind but because, as he often pointed out, the best products sold the best. His manner, dignified and even courtly but without a trace of stiffness, always impressed those with whom he came in contact. He was a man of wide and genuine friendships, whose advice was often sought and freely given.

Alexander Dana Noyes
1926 Century Association Yearbook