Albert Hamilton Gordon (July 21, 1901 – May 1, 2009), was an American businessman who transformed the

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

firm of

Kidder Peabody Kidder, Peabody & Co. was an American securities firm, established in Massachusetts in 1865. The firm's operations included investment banking, brokerage, and trading. The firm was sold to General Electric in 1986. Following heavy losses, it was ...

. He bought the firm in 1931 and remained its chairman until selling it to

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

in 1986. He made cold calls to potential clients well into his 90s and continued to come to his office at Deltec Asset Management several times a week until he was over 100. Past 100 years old he continued to serve as the chairman of the Trollope Society and as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

Roxbury Latin School The Roxbury Latin School (informally known as RL) is a private, college-preparatory, all-boys day school located in West Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1645 by Puritan missionary John Eliot, Roxbury Latin bills itself as the oldest ...

, having graduated from there in 1919 and served as a Trustee since 1940; among his

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

activities were generous donations both to the School and to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Unknown to many as a bibliophile, Gordon donated the only surviving copy of John Eliot's 1663 “Indian Bible” to Roxbury Latin School In his later years, Gordon was still actively involved in investments and was bearish on U.S. stocks prior to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living alumnus of

The Roxbury Latin School The Roxbury Latin School (informally known as RL) is a private, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory, all-boys day school located in West Roxbury, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1645 by Puritans, Puritan missionary John Eli ...

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

.Harvard University Gazette Online
He was also a trustee of the

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

Club.

References

External links

New York Times article on Albert Gordon's death

Wall Street Journal article on Albert Gordon's death

article on Gordon's death from New York Observer

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/gordon-goin-article-1.717359 NY Daily News

Investment Advice from Bloomberg online, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Albert Hamilton 1901 births 2009 deaths American financiers American men centenarians Philanthropists from New York (state) Harvard Business School alumni Businesspeople from New York City People from Scituate, Massachusetts Harvard College alumni 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople