E. Roland Harriman
Encyclopedia
E. Roland Harriman was a financier and philanthropist. For those who were very close to him, his nickname was "Bunny".
He was the youngest of five surviving children of Mary Williamson Averell and Edward Henry Harriman
, a financier and executive of the Union Pacific Railroad
and the Southern Pacific Railroad
. Among his siblings was W. Averell Harriman
, the financier and government official, four years his senior. Edward H. Harriman's estate was substantial, variously estimated between $70 million and $100 million upon his death in 1909.
Harriman was educated at Groton School
, from which he graduated in 1913, and Yale University
(B.A., 1917), where he was a member of Psi Upsilon
fraternity and a member of Skull and Bones
with his classmate and friend Prescott Bush
. He married Gladys C. C. Fries on April 12, 1917, and they had two children. His eldest daughter was Elizabeth Harriman who was married to Alexander C. Northrop then Maximillian Bliss, Jr. His other daughter was the landscape painter Phyllis Harriman Mason.
During World War I
, Harriman served for ten months as an inspector with the rank of lieutenant in the United States Army Ordnance Department. Stricken with pneumonia
and influenza
, he was honorably discharged in January 1919. After regaining his health in California, he joined the Merchants Shipbuilding Corporation that November, a firm in which his brother Averell had an interest.
In 1922, Harriman joined W. A. Harriman Company, investment bankers in New York City, and the following year, he became vice-president. In 1927 the two brothers formed the banking firm Harriman Brothers and Company. In 1931 the firm was merged with Brown Bros. & Co.
, with Roland as vice-president. Headquartered on Wall Street
, Brown Brothers Harriman started with nine partners and about two hundred employees. The firm performed specialized banking services for customers, mainly medium-sized corporations; it was not a member of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
.
In 1968, Harriman and three other senior partners at Brown Brothers (Robert A. Lovett
, secretary of defense under President Harry Truman; Prescott Bush
, former senator from Connecticut
; and Knight Woolley -- all Yale men), moved "upstairs," literally and figuratively, to make way for the younger partners, one of whom was Robert Roosa
, former undersecretary of the Treasury.
In 1975, a few years prior to Harriman's death, there were twenty-nine partners and approximately one thousand employees.
Harriman was a conservative Republican. An advocate of balanced budget
s, he wrote articles on the subject for the Saturday Evening Post and the Review of Reviews
in 1935; his speech on WEAF
radio in August 1937 on the topic was reprinted in Vital Speeches of the Day
(September 15, 1937). His brother was a Democrat who served under the Truman administration and was Governor of New York
.
Harriman followed the philanthropic example of his parents. He and his wife established the Irving Sherwood Wright professorship in geriatrics
at New York Hospital-Cornell
Medical Center and provided funds for cardiovascular research at the hospital. He joined the American Red Cross
as a member of the board of governors in 1947, helped reorganize it after World War II, served as manager for the organization's North Atlantic area from 1944 to 1946, was its vice-president and national annual fund appeal chair in 1949, and was appointed its president by President Truman, to succeed General George Marshall
in 1950.
President Dwight Eisenhower reappointed him president in 1953. His other philanthropic board memberships included that of the American Museum of Natural History
, for which he was also treasurer.
He was the youngest of five surviving children of Mary Williamson Averell and Edward Henry Harriman
E. H. Harriman
Edward Henry Harriman was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Harriman was born in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman, an Episcopal clergyman, and Cornelia Neilson...
, a financier and executive of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
and the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
. Among his siblings was W. Averell Harriman
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York...
, the financier and government official, four years his senior. Edward H. Harriman's estate was substantial, variously estimated between $70 million and $100 million upon his death in 1909.
Harriman was educated at Groton School
Groton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
, from which he graduated in 1913, and 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...
(B.A., 1917), where he was a member of Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
fraternity and 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....
with his classmate and friend Prescott Bush
Prescott Bush
Prescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator, representing Connecticut from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush and the grandfather of George W...
. He married Gladys C. C. Fries on April 12, 1917, and they had two children. His eldest daughter was Elizabeth Harriman who was married to Alexander C. Northrop then Maximillian Bliss, Jr. His other daughter was the landscape painter Phyllis Harriman Mason.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Harriman served for ten months as an inspector with the rank of lieutenant in the United States Army Ordnance Department. Stricken with pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, he was honorably discharged in January 1919. After regaining his health in California, he joined the Merchants Shipbuilding Corporation that November, a firm in which his brother Averell had an interest.
In 1922, Harriman joined W. A. Harriman Company, investment bankers in New York City, and the following year, he became vice-president. In 1927 the two brothers formed the banking firm Harriman Brothers and Company. In 1931 the firm was merged with Brown Bros. & Co.
Brown Bros. & Co.
Brown Bros. & Co. was an investment bank from 1818 until its merger with Harriman Brothers & Company in 1931 to form Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.-History:...
, with Roland as vice-president. Headquartered on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
, Brown Brothers Harriman started with nine partners and about two hundred employees. The firm performed specialized banking services for customers, mainly medium-sized corporations; it was not a member of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
.
In 1968, Harriman and three other senior partners at Brown Brothers (Robert A. Lovett
Robert A. Lovett
Robert Abercrombie Lovett was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from 1951 to 1953 and in this capacity, directed the Korean War. Promoted to the position from deputy secretary of defense Domhoff described Lovett as a "Cold War...
, secretary of defense under President Harry Truman; Prescott Bush
Prescott Bush
Prescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator, representing Connecticut from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush and the grandfather of George W...
, former senator from Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
; and Knight Woolley -- all Yale men), moved "upstairs," literally and figuratively, to make way for the younger partners, one of whom was Robert Roosa
Robert Roosa
Robert Vincent Roosa was an American economist and banker. He served as Treasury Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs during the Kennedy administration. He believed the U.S...
, former undersecretary of the Treasury.
In 1975, a few years prior to Harriman's death, there were twenty-nine partners and approximately one thousand employees.
Harriman was a conservative Republican. An advocate of balanced budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
s, he wrote articles on the subject for the Saturday Evening Post and the Review of Reviews
Review of Reviews
The Review of Reviews was a noted family of monthly journals founded in 1890-93 by British reform journalist William Thomas Stead...
in 1935; his speech on WEAF
WEAF
WEAF may refer to:* WEAF , a radio station in Camden, South Carolina, ex WAME, WQIS* WNBC , new call letters of NYC station originally WEAF, aka WRCA...
radio in August 1937 on the topic was reprinted in Vital Speeches of the Day
Vital Speeches of the Day
Vital Speeches of the Day is a monthly magazine that presents speeches and addresses in full.-Overview:Vital Speeches was established in New York in 1934 by Thomas Daly — whose grandson Thomas Daly III moved publication to South Carolina in 1986 — and is published by McMurry, Inc...
(September 15, 1937). His brother was a Democrat who served under the Truman administration and was Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
.
Harriman followed the philanthropic example of his parents. He and his wife established the Irving Sherwood Wright professorship in geriatrics
Geriatrics
Geriatrics is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or...
at New York Hospital-Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Medical Center and provided funds for cardiovascular research at the hospital. He joined the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
as a member of the board of governors in 1947, helped reorganize it after World War II, served as manager for the organization's North Atlantic area from 1944 to 1946, was its vice-president and national annual fund appeal chair in 1949, and was appointed its president by President Truman, to succeed General George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...
in 1950.
President Dwight Eisenhower reappointed him president in 1953. His other philanthropic board memberships included that of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, for which he was also treasurer.
Further reading
- Harriman's autobiography is I Reminisce (1975).
- Roland Harriman joins Psi Upsilon, NYT 14 November 1914