DOHERTY, HENRY L.

born May 15, 1870, Columbus, Ohio, U.S. died Dec. 26, 1939, Philadelphia, Pa. in full Henry Latham Doherty American businessman and utilities expert who formed the holding company Cities Service Co. in 1910. Doherty's first job came at the age of 12 with the Columbus Gas Co. in Ohio. By the time that he was 20, he had become chief engineer. Because of his knowledge of gas operations, Doherty was hired by Emerson McMillin & Co., a financial institution with utility holdings. With an acquired background of business knowledge, Doherty started his own firm of Henry L. Doherty & Co. in 1905, as technical and financial consultants to utilities. Within five years he began Cities Service Co., which served as a holding company for the utility firms that Doherty had purchased and would continue to buy or take over aggressively in large numbers. The company included all three energy sources available at the timepetroleum, natural gas, and electricity. Doherty's influence on the firm was widespread. He had a large understanding of the technical aspects of energy production and held almost 140 individual patents. His real fame, however, was acquired through his adept manipulations of finances and capital, using high-pressure methods on clients and employees. The Securities Act of 1933 and the later Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 represented responses by the federal government to the kind of freewheeling and frenzied financial dealings practiced by Doherty. His company eventually owned more than 200 oil and utility firms.