William P. G. Harding
William Proctor Gould Harding (May 5, 1864 – April 7, 1930) was an American banker. He was the 2nd Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and also served as the managing director of the War Finance Corporation.
William Harding | |
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2nd Chair of the Federal Reserve | |
In office August 10, 1916 – August 9, 1922 | |
President | Woodrow Wilson Warren Harding |
Deputy | Paul Warburg Albert Strauss Edmund Platt |
Preceded by | Charles Hamlin |
Succeeded by | Daniel Crissinger |
Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors | |
In office August 10, 1914 – August 9, 1922 | |
President | Woodrow Wilson Warren Harding |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Daniel Crissinger |
3rd President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston | |
In office January 16, 1923 – April 7, 1930 | |
Preceded by | Charles Morss |
Succeeded by | Roy A. Young |
Personal details | |
Born | Boligee, Alabama, U.S. | May 5, 1864
Died | April 7, 1930 65) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged
Political party | Democratic |
Education | University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa (BA) |
Biography
Harding was born on May 5, 1864 to Horace Harding and Eliza Proctor Gould Harding in Boligee, Alabama. He received his early education in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and before entering the University of Alabama he received his preparatory support from many established and respected educators such as Dr. Warfield C. Richardson and Prof. Joseph M. Dill.[1] He entered the University of Alabama in 1878 and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1880 and continued his studies for an extra year to obtain a Master of Arts at the time becoming the youngest student to acquire his degree. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1881 and further continued his studies again in business college at Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1916 the University of Alabama distinguished Harding with a degree of Legum Doctor.
He returned to Tuscaloosa and began working at J. H. Fitts and Company for three years as a bookkeeper and clerk. He then moved to Birmingham, Alabama to work again as a bookkeeper for Berney National Bank where he was promoted to cashier three years later. In 1896 he was elected as vice-president of the First National Bank of Birmingham and then elected president on June 28, 1902. Under his administration he was recognized as the most notable banker in the south and was recognized nationally. In 1913 he was elected as president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.[2]
Harding relinquished his title when asked by President Woodrow Wilson to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board on August 10, 1914 before the onset of World War I.[3] On August 10, 1916 he was appointed by Woodrow to become Governor of the Federal Reserve Board and was appointed director of the War Finance Corporation until 1922.[2]
In 1922 he was requested by the President of Cuba Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso to reorganize the country's financial and accounting systems.[4] He returned to America in 1923 and was appointed as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where he served until his death on April 7, 1930[5][6] from heart failure after a long illness at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.
He was a member of the Freemasonry fraternal organization and an Episcopalian.[2]
References
- Moore, Daniel Decatur (1922). "Men of the South: A Work for the Newspaper Reference Library".
- Moore, Daniel Decatur (1922). Men of the South. New Orleans: Southern Biographical Association.
- "Three appointees to the Federal Reserve Board". The Independent. New York: S.W. Benedict. July 13, 1914 – via Internet Archive.
- "Wedenesday, November 1, 1922". The New York Times – via TimesMachine.
- "W.P.G. Harding Dies; Federal Bank Head; Governor of Boston Reserve Bank Was National Financial Leader During and After War. Foresaw Crises of 1920 and Last Year. Deflation Policy Assailed When He Started It. Brother Coming From Virginia. Began Work as Bank Clerk. Prevented Cotton Price Crash. Crissinger Succeeded Him. Secretary Mellon and Governor Young Pay Tributes to Banker". New York Times. April 8, 1930. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
William P.G. Harding, Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston since January, 1923, and formerly Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, died today at Algonquin Club, where he had lived for a number of years. He was 65 years old.
- Boston, Federal Reserve Bank of. "Past Presidents of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston". Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Further reading
- History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, volume III.
- Meltzer, Allan H. (2003). A History of the Federal Reserve – Volume 1: 1913–1951. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 73–231. ISBN 978-0226520001.
- Friedman, Milton; Schwartz, Anna J. (1993) [1963]. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 224–230. ISBN 978-0691003542.