Charles Gilbert Du Bois was an American business executive whose career reflected the rapid expansion of the telecommunications industry in the early twentieth century. A longtime resident of Englewood, New Jersey, he rose from an entry-level clerk to become president and later chairman of the board of the Western Electric Company, one of the principal manufacturing arms of the Bell telephone system.

Born on March 22, 1870, in Randolph, Vermont, Du Bois was the son of William H. Du Bois, a banker who also served as Vermont’s State Treasurer, and Anne Eliza Gilbert Du Bois. He was educated in Randolph’s public schools and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1891. That same year, he began working for Western Electric in New York at a modest salary of ten dollars per week.

After a brief return to Vermont in the mid-1890s due to health concerns—during which he worked in banking—Du Bois rejoined Western Electric and steadily advanced through the company’s ranks. By the late 1890s he was overseeing accounting operations in Chicago. His expertise in financial systems became a defining feature of his career. In the early 1900s he traveled to Europe to examine factory accounting practices connected to Western Electric’s international operations. Upon returning to the United States, he organized a national distribution system for standardized equipment, helping streamline supply operations across the country.

In 1907 Du Bois left Western Electric to become controller of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T). There he developed accounting methods that were implemented throughout the Bell System, contributing to its administrative cohesion during a period of rapid growth. During World War I, he temporarily left corporate life to serve as controller of the American Red Cross in Washington and advised the War Department on financial administration.

Du Bois returned to Western Electric in 1918 as a vice president and director, and in 1919 he became president, succeeding H. B. Thayer. Under his leadership, the company expanded dramatically. Revenues nearly doubled, the workforce increased substantially, and major facilities—including the large manufacturing plant in Kearny, New Jersey—were developed. In 1921 he was named chairman of the board. He stepped down as president in 1926 and retired fully the following year.

Beyond Western Electric, Du Bois held leadership or board positions in numerous financial, insurance, and industrial organizations. He also served as a trustee of Dartmouth College and supported several philanthropic and medical institutions, including the Englewood Hospital. Locally, he was connected to civic and media enterprises in Bergen County.

Du Bois died at age seventy from complications related to pneumonia at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He was survived by his wife, Sue Sanford Du Bois, and their children. His career traced the rise of corporate telecommunications management in the United States, illustrating how financial systems and administrative organization were central to the growth of modern industry.

“Charles G. Du Bois, Industrialist, Dies; Retired President of Western Electric Co. and Chairman of Board Stricken at 70 Once $10-a-Week Clerk Served as Controller of A.T. & T. Co. for a Time—An Ex-War Department Official.” New York Times, December 24, 1940.