Franklin MacVeagh
Encyclopedia
Franklin MacVeagh was an American
banker and Treasury Secretary
.
Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania
, he graduated from Yale University
in 1858, where he was a member of Skull and Bones
. He graduated from Columbia Law School
in 1864. He worked as a wholesale grocer and lawyer. He had been director of the Commercial National Bank of Chicago for 29 years when President
William Howard Taft
asked him to be Secretary of the Treasury in 1909. He did not tackle the pressing problem of currency reform, leaving it to the National Monetary Commission
, which had been established by the Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908
. He did, however, stress the urgency of reform in his annual report. He is remembered for increasing the efficiency and general progressiveness of the Treasury Department: He abolished 450 unnecessary positions, rehabilitated the U.S. Customs Service with the introduction of electric automatic weighing devices and accepted certified check
s instead of currency for customs and internal revenue payments. He was also involved in the creation of the buffalo nickel.
He was brother to Wayne MacVeagh
, an Attorney General of the United States.
His Washington D.C., home at 2600 16th St., NW, was designed and built in 1906, by noted architect George Oakley Totten, Jr.
, and was known as the "Pink Palace." It is now home to the Inter-American Defense Board
.
MacVeagh died in 1934 and is interred at Graceland Cemetery
in Chicago
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
banker and Treasury Secretary
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
.
Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
, he graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1858, where he was a member of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. He graduated from Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
in 1864. He worked as a wholesale grocer and lawyer. He had been director of the Commercial National Bank of Chicago for 29 years when President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
asked him to be Secretary of the Treasury in 1909. He did not tackle the pressing problem of currency reform, leaving it to the National Monetary Commission
National Monetary Commission
National Monetary Commission was a study group created by the Aldrich Vreeland Act of 1908. After the Panic of 1907 American bankers turned to Europe for ideas on how to operate a central bank. Senator Nelson Aldrich, Republican leader of the Senate, personally led a team of experts to major...
, which had been established by the Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908
Aldrich-Vreeland Act
The Aldrich–Vreeland Act was passed in response to the Panic of 1907 and established the National Monetary Commission, which recommended the Federal Reserve Act of 1913....
. He did, however, stress the urgency of reform in his annual report. He is remembered for increasing the efficiency and general progressiveness of the Treasury Department: He abolished 450 unnecessary positions, rehabilitated the U.S. Customs Service with the introduction of electric automatic weighing devices and accepted certified check
Certified check
A certified check or certified cheque is a form of check for which the bank verifies that sufficient funds exist in the account to cover the check, and so certifies, at the time the check is written. Those funds are then set aside in the bank's internal account until the check is cashed or returned...
s instead of currency for customs and internal revenue payments. He was also involved in the creation of the buffalo nickel.
He was brother to Wayne MacVeagh
Wayne MacVeagh
Isaac Wayne MacVeagh was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and the 36th Attorney General of the United States.-Biography:...
, an Attorney General of the United States.
His Washington D.C., home at 2600 16th St., NW, was designed and built in 1906, by noted architect George Oakley Totten, Jr.
George Oakley Totten, Jr.
George Oakley Totten, Jr. , was one of Washington D.C.’s most prolific and skilled architects in the Gilded Age. His international training and interest in architectural decoration led to a career of continuous experimentation and stylistic eclecticism which is clearly evident in many of his works...
, and was known as the "Pink Palace." It is now home to the Inter-American Defense Board
Inter-American Defense Board
The Inter-American Defense Board is an international committee of nationally appointed defense officials who develop collaborative approaches on common defense and security issues facing countries in North, Central, and South America...
.
MacVeagh died in 1934 and is interred at Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery is a large Victorian era cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park Road...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.