The following is a list of presidents of Bank of New York from inception in 1784 until its 2007 merger with Mellon Financial.
History
The Bank of New York was formed following a June 1784 meeting at a coffee house on St. George's Square. The bank operated without a charter for seven years. The bank opened on June 9, 1784, with Alexander McDougall as the first president and William Seton as Cashier. Its first offices were in the old Walton Mansion in New York City. In 1787, it moved to a site on Hanover Square that the New York Cotton Exchange later moved into.
The bank provided the United States government its first loan in 1789. The loan was orchestrated by Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, and it paid the salaries of United States Congress members and President George Washington. The Bank of New York was the first company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange when it first opened in 1792. In 1796, the bank moved to a location at the corner of Wall Street and William Street, which would later become 48 Wall Street.
In 1969, the Bank of New York Company was established as a holding company with the Bank of New York as the largest operating unit of Company. Elliott Averett, who joined the bank in 1940, was elected president of the bank in 1968, became chief executive officer in 1973 and chairman of both the bank and the holding company in 1974. J. Carter Bacot was appointed president of the bank in 1974 and president of the holding company five years later. In January 1982, Bacot became chief executive officer and chairman following the death of Averett. Bacot continued to hold his other posts of president of the holding company and president and chief executive officer of the bank.
Presidents # Photo Name Term start Term end Ref 1 Alexander McDougall 1784 1785 2 Jeremiah Wadsworth 1785 1786 3 Isaac Roosevelt 1786 1791 4 Gulian Verplanck† 1791 1799 5 Nicholas Gouverneur† 1799 1802 6 Herman LeRoy 1802 1804 7 Matthew Clarkson† 1804 1825 8 Charles Wilkes 1825 1832 9 Cornelius Heyer† 1832 1843 10 John Oothout† 1843 1858 11 Anthony P. Halsey† 1858 1863 12 Charles P. Leverich† 1863 1876 13 Charles M. Fry 1876 1892 14 Ebenezer S. Mason† 1892 1900 15 Herbert L. Griggs 1901 1922 16 Edwin G. Merrill 1922 1931 17 John C. Traphagen 1931 1948 18 Albert C. Simmonds Jr. 1948 1957 19 Donald M. Elliman 1957 1961 20 Samuel H. Woolley 1962 1968 21 Elliott Averett 1968 1974 22 J. Carter Bacot 1974 1982 23 Peter Herrick 1982 1992 24 Thomas A. Renyi 1992 2007 †Died in office
Chairman of the Board of Trustees # Photo Name Term start Term end Ref John C. Traphagen 1948 1957 Albert C. Simmonds Jr. 1957 1963 Charles M. Bliss 1963 1968 Samuel H. Woolley 1969 1974 Elliott Averett† 1974 1982 J. Carter Bacot 1982 1998 Thomas A. Renyi 1998 2007 †Died in office
References
External links
Bank of New York Mellon