Sosthenes Behn

Businessman, born in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, USA. After education in Paris, he emigrated to the USA in 1898, but immediately left to join his brother Hernand Behn in opening a brokerage house in Puerto Rico. In 1914 the sugar crop failed, and Behn Brothers Inc acquired the local telephone system as security against a crop loan. The brothers expanded, adding the Cuban telephone system (1916) and linking the Cuban system to Florida (1919). In 1920 they incorporated the International Telephone and Telegraph Corp (IT&T) in Maryland, and Sosthenes served as president until 1948 and then as chairman of the board (1948–56). There followed a period of rapid growth as IT&T built a network of international cable and local systems throughout the world. As world conditions deteriorated in the 1930s and 1940s, Sosthenes sold local telephone companies to governments and consolidated operations in Britain and the USA. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the French Legion of Honour for service in the US Army Signal Corps during World War 1.

Sosthenes Behn co-founded the Puerto Rico Telephone Company which eventually spawned ITT.

Through his relation with Kurt Schröder, Sosthenes Behn and ITT gained access to the German armament industry during the 30's. He maintained his interests in Germany even after war broke out, and was involved in the construction of german war planes through his shares in Focke-Wolfe aircraft company.