Frank A. Vanderlip

Frank Arthur Vanderlip Sr.
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
In office 1897–1901
Appointed by	Scott Wike
Preceded by	Milton E. Ailes
Personal details
Born	(1864-11-13)November 13, 1864 Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 30, 1937(1937-06-30) (aged 72) New York City, U.S.
Spouse	Narcissa Cox Vanderlip ​ ​ (m. 1903)​
Children	6
Known for	Founding Father of Palos Verdes, California
Signature

Frank Arthur Vanderlip Sr. (November 17, 1864 – June 30, 1937) was an American

Born in rural

New York Hospital

, after weeks of treatment there.

Early life

Frank Vanderlip was born on November 17, 1864, in

University of Illinois

and another job at the factory lathe, Vanderlip became city editor of the local newspaper, the Aurora Evening Post in 1885.

Career

Under the guidance of economist

National City Bank of New York

, then the country's largest bank. Vanderlip became vice president in 1902, and was president from 1909 until 1919.

When the stock market and the financial system collapsed in the Panic of 1907, Vanderlip worked closely with other stable bankers, led by J. P. Morgan, to stop the depositors' run on banks that was leading to economic disaster. As part of an international economic relief response for the Panic of 1907, Vanderlip allied with top Japanese business leaders, hoping they could work together to stabilize the U.S. economy by increasing business and financial relations between their nations. He hoped this would also improve political relations between the U.S. and Japan. Based on these goals, in 1908, Vanderlip led a business U.S. delegation to Japan, where they met with Japanese business leaders, including Baron Shibusawa Eiichi, Baron Shibusawa's son Shibusawa Masao, Baron Takuma Dan, Taka Kawada, and Baron Takamine Mitsui. This 1908 visit was the first official, modern day U.S. business delegation to visit Japan. The 1908 photo to the right presents Vanderlip during that 1908 visit.^[4]

The Panic of 1907 had a deep effect on the thinking of Vanderlip and others who were involved. In November 1910, at the invitation of Senator Nelson Aldrich, Vanderlip joined a small group of leading bankers on a train to Jekyll Island, Georgia, which later became known as the Jekyll Island group. The bankers formulated the outline to a plan that laid the groundwork for the drafting of the eventual Federal Reserve Act.^[3] In the final month and a half before the act's enactment on December 23, 1913, Vanderlip's alternative plan for a Federal Reserve Act nearly derailed the one that President Wilson and the Democratic leadership were promoting.^[5][6] Several of Vanderlip's ideas were incorporated into the final Federal Reserve Act.

After the Federal Reserve Act allowed national banks worth more than $1 million to be involved in the international market, Vanderlip and his vice president at National City Bank, Roger Leslie Farnham, plotted the takeover of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti through the United States occupation of Haiti, with initial plans beginning in 1909.^[7][8][9] Vanderlip wrote to Chairman of National City Bank James Stillman in 1910, "In the future, this stock will give us a foothold [in Haiti] and I think we will perhaps later undertake the reorganization of the Government’s currency system, which, I believe, I see my way clear to do with practically no monetary risk".^[10]

During the

. Because he spoke out vigorously in defense of the public's right to know about various issues, Vanderlip was forced to resign from the boards of directors of almost 40 companies. He subsequently led a quieter life at his homes in New York and California.

After two weeks' hospitalization at

Personal life and purchases

Scarborough, New York

On May 19, 1903, Vanderlip married Mabel Narcissa Cox (

Vanderlip purchased several other large parcels, often along with other investors. The Vanderlip-Stillman-Tilghman syndicate bought 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) of land at the mouth of the

Rancho Palos Verdes

.

His last major purchase was the hamlet of Sparta in Ossining, a quarter-mile from his Beechwood home. He bought about 70 homes and business buildings in 1920, believing it to be too run-down. Tearing down dilapidated homes, turning some to face the river, and moving at least one across the street, Vanderlip beautified and gentrified Sparta. Some of these buildings became homes for teachers at Scarborough School. The Vanderlips later gave land in Scarborough to one of their daughters, Narcissa, and her husband Julian Street Jr., for their family home, the Julian Street Jr. residence.

Legacy

Frank Vanderlip was an innovator in the world of banking. Besides being one of the founders of the

, he led his bank to open the first overseas branches of an American bank, thus his bank became heavily involved in the American occupation of Haiti in 1915. He helped devise the war bond savings stamp program used in World Wars I and II, set up the first internship program to bring college students to work and study in the bank. He also worked to open up friendly business and personal relations with Japan in the 1920s.

His papers from 1890 to 1937 are stored at Columbia University.^[14]

Frank Vanderlip was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership in 1919.

Selected works

• Vanderlip, Frank A. The American "commercial invasion" of Europe. Republished from Scribner's Magazine, 1902. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
• Vanderlip, Frank A.; Sparkes, Boyden (February 9, 1935). "From Farm Boy to Financier: Stories of Railroad Moguls" (PDF). The Saturday Evening Post. Retrieved July 18, 2014.

References

Bibliography

• Brooks, Frank H. (May–October 1902). "Frank A. Vanderlip".
  Doubleday, Page & Company
  : 2185–90. Retrieved July 5, 2016.

Further reading

• Mack, Vicki A. (2013). Frank A. Vanderlip: The Banker Who Changed America.
  ISBN 978-1492704904
  .
• Mack, Vicki A. (Director) (November 13, 2015). Money Man: Frank Vanderlip and the Birth of the Federal Reserve (motion picture). Duck Pond Productions.

External links