William McChesney Martin
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2024) |
Bill Martin | |
---|---|
President of the New York Stock Exchange | |
In office May 1938 – May 1941 | |
Preceded by | Charles R. Gay |
Succeeded by | Emil Schram |
Personal details | |
Born | William McChesney Martin Jr. December 17, 1906 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | July 27, 1998 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 91)
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Yale University (BA) Columbia University |
William McChesney Martin Jr. (December 17, 1906 – July 27, 1998) was an American business executive who served as the 9th
Early life
William McChesney Martin Jr. was born in St. Louis to William McChesney Martin Sr. and Rebecca Woods. Martin's connection to the Federal Reserve was forged through his family heritage. In 1913, Martin's father was summoned by President Woodrow Wilson and Senator Carter Glass to help write the Federal Reserve Act that would establish the Federal Reserve System on December 23 of that year. His father later served as a governor and then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Martin graduated from Yale University, where his formal education was in English and Latin rather than finance. However, he still maintained an intense interest in business through his father. His first job after graduation was at the St. Louis brokerage firm of A. G. Edwards & Sons, where he became a full partner after only two years. From there, Martin's rapid rise in the financial world landed him in 1931 a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), just two years after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 at the outset of the Great Depression. Martin pursued graduate study in Economics at Columbia University from 1931 to 1937; however, he did not receive a degree.[2] During the early part of that decade, Martin's work towards increasing regulation of the stock market led to his election to the NYSE's board of governors in 1935. There, he worked with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reestablish confidence in the stock market and prevent future crashes. He eventually became president of the New York Stock Exchange at age 31, leading newspapers to label him the "boy wonder of Wall Street." Like his tenure as governor on the exchange, Martin's presidency focused on cooperating with the SEC to increase regulation of the exchange.
During
Career
Director of the Export-Import Bank
Martin's return to civilian life was also a return to the financial world, but this time it was in the Federal government.
Martin left the Export-Import bank when he was summoned to the
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
With Robert Rouse, Woodlief Thomas, and Winfield Riefler of the Fed, Martin negotiated the
Contrary to Truman's expectations, however, Martin guarded the Fed's independence, not just through Truman's administration but also through the four succeeding administrations. To the present day, his term as chairman is the longest term in the history of the Fed. For nearly two decades, Martin would achieve global recognition as the world's most important central banker.[
Martin was selected administrator-designate of the Emergency Stabilization Agency, part of a secret group created by
After the
Martin was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1963 and the American Philosophical Society in 1972.[8][9]
In 1966 he underwent successful prostate surgery.[10]
Externally, Martin was perceived to be the dominant decision-maker at the Fed but this is only a perception.
Martin ended his tenure as Chairman of the Board of Governors on January 30, 1970. On that day, his career in public service ended, but he continued to work, holding a variety of directorships of corporations and nonprofit institutions, such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Martin was an avid tennis player who played tennis nearly every day on the tennis court located outside the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C.[13] Martin would go on to serve as president of the National Tennis Foundation and chair of the International Tennis Hall of Fame after retiring from the Federal Reserve.[14]
He died of a
Legacy
The 1974 Federal Reserve Annex next to the Eccles Building is named for him.
See also
- History of the United States (1945–1964)
- History of the United States (1964–1980)
- Bretton Woods system
References
- ^ Hodgson, Godfrey (21 August 1998). "Obituary: William McChesney Martin". The Independent. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ "William McChesney Martin". www.NNDB.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- New York Times. April 17, 1941.
- ^ Mankiw, N. Gregory (December 23, 2007). "How to Avoid Recession? Let the Fed Work". The New York Times.
- ^ Martin, William McChesney Jr. (October 19, 1955). "Address before the New York Group of the Investment Bankers Association of America". FRASER. Statements and Speeches of William McChesney Martin, Jr: 12. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
The Federal Reserve, as one writer put it, after the recent increase in the discount rate, is in the position of the chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up.
- ^ "The Eisenhower Ten: William McChesney Martin Jr". CONELRAD.COM. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ Lowenstein, Roger (January 20, 2008). "Ben Bernanke - Federal Reserve Bank - Interest Rates - United States Economy - Recessions - Banking - Housing - Mortgages". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- ^ "William McChesney Martin". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
- New York Times. July 9, 1966.
- ^ Granville, Kevin (April 7, 2015). "America's Endless War Over Money". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- OCLC 37975682.
- ^ "Federal Reserve Tennis Court".
- ^ "William McChesney Martin".
- New York Times.
Further reading
- Portions of this article are based on public domain text from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
- Bremner, Robert (2004). Chairman of the Fed: William McChesney Martin Jr. and the Creation of the American Financial System. ISBN 978-0300105087.
- ISBN 978-0226520025.
- ISBN 978-0226213514.
External links
- Digital collection of documents from the William McChesney Martin Jr. Papers at the Missouri History Museum
- Statements and Speeches of William McChesney Martin Jr.
- Calendar of William McChesney Martin Jr. from his time as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- William McChesney Martin at International Tennis Hall of Fame