Commonwealth Life Insurance

Founded in 1904, Commonwealth Life Insurance Company was housed in the Commonwealth Building in Louisville, Kentucky. Commonwealth Life was intended to serve as a catalyst to economic development in Kentucky, and as a means to keep both business and capital within state borders. To emphasize this connection, the firm was named after the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It also adopted the state’s motto, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall,” and its seal. Two of the company’s founders figured prominently in its early years. Colonel Joshua D. Powers, the firm’s first president, was a lawyer, a state legislator, and founder of several corporations. Darwin W. Johnson joined the company as secretary-treasurer after working for several years in the tobacco business.

Commonwealth Life has undergone many transformations since its founding. The company created Capital Holding Corporation in 1969. In 1984, Capital Holding changed its name to Providian Corporation. Providian Financial Corporation was one of the leading issuers of credit cards in the United States before it was sold to Washington Mutual in 2005, which was then sold to J.P. Morgan Chase in 2008.

To further give back to their community, the company established the Commonwealth Life Scholarship Fund in 1971. The fund was established to invest in the goals of deserving WKU students who might otherwise not have the opportunity to pursue an education. Through this fund, Commonwealth Life lives on in perpetuity.