Wesley Tao (1924-2020) was born in Shanghai, China, and graduated from the University of Nanking in China, where he studied economics. From 1949 to 1951, he attended the University of Washington, receiving a BA in Business Administration. Tao worked in the personnel department at Boeing from 1952-1957 before opening Wesley Tao and Associates, an insurance agency in the Chinatown International District. Later, he worked for the U.S. Presidential Personnel Advisory Board for the State of Washington and was also a Special Assistant to the Regional Administration for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In the civic arena, Tao served as the executive director of the King County Overall Economic Development Committee, and was a director of the Central Puget Sound Development District. Active in the affairs related to the Chinatown community, Tao served on the board of the Chong Wa Benevolent Association, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, the International District Improvement Association, and as a member of the Citizen’s Action Force for the King County Stadium (Kingdome).

This photograph was taken as part of a 1965 newspaper report about the effect of a recent fatal shooting on businesses in the Chinatown International District neighborhood. Wesley Tao was one of several Chinese businesses owners and civic leaders interviewed for the article. At the time, he was Vice President of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Here, Tao talks on the phone at his insurance agency office.

Caption information source: Seattle Post Intellignecer, "Tao Council Aspirant," , August 3, 1973, p. 11; "Linyen booms; Chinatown gloomg," July 15, 1965, p. 11.
Caption information source: Wesley Tao obituary at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/seattletimes/name/wesley-tao-obituary?pid=196080147