Richard Melancthon Hurd
Encyclopedia
Richard Melancthon Hurd was a pioneer real estate economist and political activist.
Hurd was born in New York City and attended St. Paul's School
. He graduated from Yale University
in 1888, where he was a member of Skull and Bones
and editor of the Yale record. He headed the mortgage department of the U.S. Mortgage & Trust Company in 1895. He married in 1898 and had five children. He was president of the Lawyers' Mortgage Insurance Company in 1903 when he published Principles of City Land Values.
During the First World War he was active as an officer of the American Defense Society
, an organization that promoted America's entry into World War I
and civilian initiatives to suppress dissent during the conflict. He was a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt
. In 1917, when he was vice=president and director of the Mortgage Bond Company of New York, he was appointed a New York State Prison Commissioner. He was later President of Lawyers Mortgage Trust, a securitizer of urban commercial property mortgages. The company suffered financial losses and closed during the depression.
He died at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. He had been ill for more than a month.
Hurd was born in New York City and attended St. Paul's School
St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
. 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 1888, 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....
and editor of the Yale record. He headed the mortgage department of the U.S. Mortgage & Trust Company in 1895. He married in 1898 and had five children. He was president of the Lawyers' Mortgage Insurance Company in 1903 when he published Principles of City Land Values.
During the First World War he was active as an officer of the American Defense Society
American Defense Society
The American Defense Society was a nationalist American political group founded in 1915. It advocated American intervention against Germany during World War I and opposition to the Bolsheviks when they came to power in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917.-Formation:Clarence Smedley Thomas,...
, an organization that promoted America's entry into 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...
and civilian initiatives to suppress dissent during the conflict. He was a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. In 1917, when he was vice=president and director of the Mortgage Bond Company of New York, he was appointed a New York State Prison Commissioner. He was later President of Lawyers Mortgage Trust, a securitizer of urban commercial property mortgages. The company suffered financial losses and closed during the depression.
He died at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. He had been ill for more than a month.
Sources
- New York Times: "German Boycott Efforts," November 18, 1918, accessed May 24, 2010
- New York Times: "Attacks German Insurance," November 12, 1917, accessed May 24, 2010
- New York Times: "Wants No Credit Given to Germany," November 22, 1918, accessed May 24, 2010
External links
- Richard M. Hurd, "Principles of City Land Values" (1903)
- John W. Leonard, ed., Who's Who in New York City and State (NY: L.R. Hamersly & Company, 1909), vol. 4, 716, View