John P. Horgan, a New Canaan-based investor and an executive in one of the nation”™s first private equity firms, died June 9 from natural causes at the age of 96.
Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Horgan entered the U.S. Naval Academy shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Horgan graduated in 1944 with an engineering degree and served as an officer on destroyers in the Mediterranean and Pacific. After the war, he attended Harvard Business School, graduating in 1949. He was briefly with U.S. Steel before being recalled into naval service during the Korean War.
After the war, Horgan became a general partner at J.H. Whitney & Co., a pioneering venture capital firm focused on multiple industries including electronics, appliances, oil prospecting and nuclear energy. He left the company in 1971 and worked as a private investor and financial adviser. During this period, he advised the state of Connecticut on its investments and oversaw the $27.9 million expansion of Norwalk Hospital.
Horgan also served as a director on the boards of more than 20 companies, including United Parcel Service, General Signal and DTX Corp, as well as the boards of the New Canaan Country School and Beloit College.
