William Hood Dunwoody (March 14, 1841 – February 8, 1914) was an American banker, merchants, miller, art patron and philanthropist.

Dunwoody visited the area in 1893, when he and the genealogist he hired tried and failed to find a Quaker meeting place.

[6] He was born March 14, 1841, in Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, about eleven miles from Philadelphia,[7] to James and Hannah (Hood) Dunwoody, who were farmers.

He then worked for five years with his uncle Ezekiel Dunwoody, who owned a grain and feed business in Philadelphia.

[13] Dunwoody overcame "most determined opposition", successfully arranged for direct export,[12] and set patterns of business that persisted for years.

[14] He became a silent partner in Washburn-Crosby & Company[15] (which became General Mills) with Washburn, John Crosby and Charles Martin.

[10] The prevailing motto of the time, reflecting Dunwoody's influence and the company's deep conservatism, was, "Addition, division, silence.

"[16] A reserved and shrewd capitalist,[17] he served a time as vice president of the company and was sometimes in demand because of his banking connections.

[18] Then United States Milling Company of New York started to speculate and succeeded in buying the rival Northwestern Consolidated.

[9] Dunwoody was ill for six months, reportedly from a heart ailment, and died at his home (104 Groveland Terrace, Minneapolis) on February 8, 1914.

[31] Among thousands of other works,[1] it also bought Olive Trees (1889), part of the final series by Vincent van Gogh.