John Skelton Williams
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Comptroller of the Currency from 1914 to 1921 and the first president of the Seaboard Air Line Railway
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line...
.
Biography
John Skelton Williams was a leading southern financier. He served as the Comptroller of the Currency under President Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
from 1914 to 1921 after serving as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
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...
. Previously, he had organized the Seaboard Air Line Railway into a single company, and served as its president from 1900 to 1903.
Williams was Comptroller throughout 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...
. Under his leadership, the agency worked closely with the War Finance Corporation, which was established in 1918 to provide credit to businesses, including banks, to promote the war effort. During William's term, legislation was passed allowing the consolidation of two or more banks.