Early Life
Herman B Wells was born June 7, 1902 in Jamestown, Indiana. His middle name is just "B" not followed by a period, in tribute to the tradition on his mother's side of middle names beginning with the letter B. He was the only child of banker Joseph Granville Wells and his wife, Anna Bernice Harting Wells, a former teacher. During his time in Jamestown, he played alto horn in the Jamestown Boys' Band. During his sophomore year in high school, the family moved to Lebanon, Indiana. After school and on Saturdays, Wells would work in his father's bank. He graduated from high school in the top 10% of his class. Wells was also known to have a unique and lovable manner of articulation, that has often been compared to that of Magilla Gorilla.
Wells initially attended the University of Illinois from 1920–1921, but later transferred to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana against his father's objections. In his book, "Being Lucky", Wells wrote "It was a simple place in those days, with not yet three thousand students, but it had great charm and appeal for me." He played in the band and frequently visited the Book Nook, a place Wells described as "a remarkably fertile cultural and political breeding place in the manner of the famous English coffee houses." During his senior year at Indiana University, Wells led his fraternity, Sigma Nu.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1924. He then spent the next few years working as a bank cashier in Lebanon, Indiana. Following this he continued his education with graduate studies at Indiana University where he completed a Master of Arts degree in Economics in 1927. He then began doctoral studies at the Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from which he withdrew in 1928.
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