Richard Montgomery Tobin (April 9, 1866 – January 23, 1952) was an American

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He was a civic leader and

philanthropist 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 ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and served as United States Minister to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Early life

Richard Montgomery Tobin was born in San Francisco on April 9, 1866. He was the son of Mary (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Regan) Tobin and Richard Tobin, one of the earliest leaders of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

after it became a possession of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was educated at St. Ignatius College (now the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

Career

In 1889, he became an officer and member of the board of directors of the Hibernia Savings & Loan Association (later the Hibernia Bank), which had been founded by his father and uncle. He became Secretary and Treasurer in 1906, and President in 1933. Tobin was also involved in politics as a

progressive Republican The Republican Party in the United States includes several factions, or wings. During the 19th century, Republican factions included the Half-Breeds, who supported civil service reform; the Radical Republicans, who advocated the immediate and t ...

. Tobin maintained homes in San Mateo and San Francisco, and was active in several San Francisco organizations as a board member, officer, and benefactor, including the

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Franci ...

San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

, San Francisco Musical Association, and

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Tobin joined the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, receiving a commission as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in December, 1917. He served in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

throughout the war, working at the U.S. embassy as the officer in charge of cable traffic between

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the U.S., including censoring messages to ensure that secrets were not unintentionally revealed. After the war Tobin remained in Europe, serving as an assistant to the U.S. Naval attaché and a member of the staff supporting the U.S. Commission which took part in negotiating the Treaty of Versailles. He received the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

from France in recognition of his military service. In 1923, Tobin was appointed U.S. Minister to the Netherlands, and he served until 1929. At the completion of his service he was presented with the Grand Cross of Orange-Nassau. In 1931 he was made a Knight of the Order of Malta. Tobin was initially also appointed as Ambassador to Luxembourg, which had been a dual appointment with the Netherlands for several years. He did not serve in this post because it was established as a separate embassy in 1923.

Foreign awards

Personal life

Tobin remained a bachelor until 1936, when he married Florence Adele Sloane Burden (1873–1960), the widow of wealthy businessman

James A. Burden Jr. James Abercrombie Burden Jr. (January 16, 1871 – June 1, 1932) was an American industrialist from New York (state), New York. Early life James Abercrombie Burden Jr. was born on January 16, 1871, in Manhattan New York. His parents were James A ...

She was a daughter of Emily Thorn Vanderbilt and great-granddaughter of

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

. Tobin died in San Francisco on January 23, 1952. He was buried in San Mateo's Holy Cross Cemetery.San Mateo Times, Death Notice, Richard M. Tobin, January 25, 1952

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Richard M. 1866 births 1952 deaths Businesspeople from San Francisco People from San Mateo, California University of San Francisco alumni California Republicans American military personnel of World War I United States Navy officers American recipients of the Legion of Honour Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Military personnel from California