Edmund Calvert Lynch (May 19, 1885 – May 12, 1938) and his friend, Charles E. Merrill, formed

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

on October 15, 1915.

Early years

Of Irish descent, Edmund Lynch was born on May 19, 1885, in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, to Richard H. Lynch and Jennie Vernon Smith Lynch. Edmund Calvert Lynch attended the

Boys' Latin School of Maryland Boys' Latin School of Maryland is an all-boys, university-preparatory school located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1844, it is the oldest independent, nonsectarian secondary school in the state of Maryland. The school is divided into Lower, ...

in Baltimore and graduated from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1907.

Merrill and Lynch

Edmund Lynch met Charles E. Merrill when Lynch was a stockbroker on

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 ...

. In 1907,

Merrill Merrill may refer to: Places in the United States *Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska *Merrill, Iowa *Merrill, Maine *Merrill, Michigan *Merrill, Mississippi, an unincorporated community near Lucedale in George County *Merrill, Oregon *Merrill, Wisc ...

moved into Lynch's room at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

's boarding house while trying to find a place to live in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The two men shared their ideas of starting a brokerage, and became great friends. On October 15, 1914, Charles E. Merrill and Lynch started

. Lynch was especially known for helping create, finance, and broker many large chain-stores in the United States, including S.S. Kresge Corporation (now

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

), J. C. Penney, and

Safeway Inc. Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops, and veh ...

Lynch also purchased the pioneering French movie company

Pathé Exchange Pathé Exchange, commonly known as Pathé, was an American film production and distribution company, largely of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's silent film, silent era. Known for its trailblazing newsreel and wide array of short film, s ...

in 1921, and later rebranded it to Keith-Orpheum (

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

Predicting the 1929 Stock Market Crash

Edmund C. Lynch gained special notoriety when he foresaw the impending Wall Street crash of 1929, and advised

's clients to sell many of their stock holdings in 1928. As many Americans were enjoying the soaring stock market in 1928, Lynch was convinced a disaster was near. His famous letter to all of Merrill Lynch's clients warned:

Now is the time to get out of debt. We think you should know that with a few exceptions all the larger companies financed by us today have no funded debt. This is not the result of luck but of carefully considered plans on the part of their managements and ourselves to place these companies in an impregnable position. The advice that we have given important corporations can be followed to advantage by all classes of investors. We do not urge you to sell securities indiscriminately, but we advise you in no uncertain terms that you take advantage of present high prices and put your own financial house in order. We recommend that you sell enough securities to lighten your obligations, or better yet, pay them entirely.

Lynch's concern for the bullish stock market was so strong that he went to the White House in 1928 and warned President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

of his intuition. During his meeting with the President, Lynch famously even offered to make President Coolidge a partner of his firm, but the President turned down his offer. When later asked of his incredible foresight in 1933, Lynch told the ''New York Times'', "The lesson that I had learned--when stocks are too high they come down--stood me in good stead in 1928-29." It is estimated that Lynch's intuition saved his clients over $83 million (approx. $1.3B adjusted for inflation).

Personal life

Edmund Lynch married Signa Janney Fornaris in 1923 with whom he had three children: Vernon, Edmund Calvert Jr. (who later joined his father's firm), and Signa Janney. Vernon married Robert G. Merrill, whose father was Joseph Merrill. Vernon and Robert had six children: Lynn Gray, Gail Merrill, Edmund Merrill, Douglas Merrill, Signa Hermann, and Nina Merrill. They also have nine grandchildren: Kelli Merrill, Austen (Baron) Gray, Dustin Merrill, Lily Gray, Nick Merrill, Merrill Hermann, Taylor Ogan, Robert Hermann III, and Chase Merrill.

Death and legacy

He died in London, England while on business, on May 12, 1938. Upon his death, he bequeathed $59,000 to Johns Hopkins medical school in the name of his brother.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', May 26, 1938

References

External links

Merrill Lynch Timeline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Edmund C. 1885 births 1938 deaths American investment bankers Merrill (company) people Johns Hopkins University alumni