Edward Roland Noel "Bunny" Harriman (December 24, 1895 – February 16, 1978) was an American financier and philanthropist.

Early life

Harriman was born on December 24, 1895, 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 ...

.Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller, Nancy Flood, ''The Encyclopedia of New York City'', New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 201

/ref> He was the youngest of five surviving children of Mary Williamson Averell and Edward Henry Harriman.JOIN YALE FRATERNITIES.; E. Roland Harriman Among Those Elected to Junior Societies.
''

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 ...

'', November 19, 1914 Among his siblings was W. Averell Harriman, the financier and government official, four years his senior. Edward H. Harriman's estate was substantial, variously estimated between $70 million and $100 million upon his death in 1909, leaving his wife and children well provided for. Roland, whom friends and family sometimes called "Bunny," was educated at

Groton School Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...

, from which he graduated in 1913, and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(B.A., 1917), where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. He was also a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

with his classmate and friend

Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush Sr. (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician. as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 ...

. During

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 ...

he served for 10 months as an inspector with the rank of lieutenant in the United States Army Ordnance Department; stricken with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, he was honorably discharged in January 1919.

Career

After regaining his health in

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 ...

, in November 1919, Harriman joined the Merchant Shipbuilding Corporation, a firm in which his brother W. Averell Harriman had an interest. In 1922 Harriman joined W. A. Harriman Company,

investment bankers Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

in New York City, and in 1923 he became its vice president. In 1927 the two brothers formed the banking firm Harriman Brothers and Company. In 1931 the firm was merged with Brown Bros. & Co., with Roland as vice president. Headquartered 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 ...

, Brown Brothers Harriman started with nine partners and about 200 employees, performing specialized banking services for customers, mainly medium-sized corporations; it was not a member of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

System or the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

. In 1968 Harriman and three other senior partners at Brown Brothers ( Robert A. Lovett, secretary of defense under President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

;

, former senator from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

; and Knight Woolley — all Yale men) moved "upstairs," literally and figuratively, to make way for the younger partners, one of whom was Robert Roosa, former undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury. In 1975 a few years prior to Harriman's death, there were 29 partners and approximately 1,000 employees. Harriman served as the chairman of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

for 23 years.

Union Bank

Harriman was one of the seven directors of the Union Banking Corporation (along with Prescott Sheldon Bush, father of future U.S. president

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

), which financed

Fritz Thyssen Friedrich "Fritz" Thyssen (9 November 1873 – 8 February 1951) was a German businessman, born into one of Germany's leading industrial families. He was an early supporter and financial backer of the Nazi Party but later broke with it. He was ar ...

a donor to the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

and whose assets were seized by the United States government during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

under the

Trading with the Enemy Act Trading with the Enemy Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States relating to trading with the enemy. ''Trading with the Enemy Acts'' is also a generic name for a class of legislation generally pas ...

and Executive Order No. 9095.

Personal life

On April 12, 1917, he married Gladys Fries (1896–1983). They resided in Arden, New YorkKenneth Czech, ''With Rifle & Petticoat: Women as Big Game Hunters, 1880-1940'', Derrydale Press, 2002, pp. 91-9

/ref> and were listed in the

Social Register The ''Social Register'' is a semi-annual publication in the United States that indexes the members of American high society. First published in the 1880s by newspaper columnist Louis Keller, it was later acquired by Malcolm Forbes. Since 2014, ...

.Social Register, Social Register Association, Volume 101, p. 1168
/ref> Together they had two children: *Elizabeth Harriman, who was married to Alexander C. Northrop, then Maximillian Bliss, Jr. *Phyllis Harriman, a landscape painter, who was married for several years to fellow artist Frank Herbert Mason Harriman died on February 16, 1978, in Arden, New York, and his wife died in 1983, also in Arden, New York.Gladys Fries Harriman
''

'', August 24, 1983

Philanthropy

With his wife, Harriman established the Irving Sherwood Wright professorship in

geriatrics Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros'' mean ...

at New York Hospital- Cornell Medical Center, and provided funds for cardiovascular research at the hospital. After World War II, Harriman joined the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

as a member of the board of governors in 1947 and helped reorganize it, serving as manager for the organization's North Atlantic area from 1944 to 1946, as vice-president and national annual fund appeal chair in 1949, and was appointed its president by President Truman to succeed General

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

in 1950. President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

reappointed him president in 1953. Harriman's other philanthropic board memberships included that of the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

, for which he was also treasurer. He was also the chairman of the U.S. Trotting Association. He was also president and chairman of the Boys' Club of New York.

Bibliography

*''I Reminisce'' (1975).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harriman, E. Roland 1895 births 1978 deaths Businesspeople from New York City People from Orange County, New York Groton School alumni Yale University alumni Cornell University faculty Philanthropists from New York (state) Harriman family Members of Skull and Bones