Lyman Judson Gage 42nd United States Secretary of the Treasury Date of Birth: 28.06.1836 Country: USA

1. Lyman J. Gage: 42nd United States Secretary of the Treasury
2. Early Career
3. Rise in Finance
4. Treasury Secretary
5. Later Years
6. Personal Life

Lyman J. Gage: 42nd United States Secretary of the Treasury

Lyman Judson Gage, the 42nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, was born in DeRuyter, New York on June 28, 1836. His family's ancestry can be traced back to Thomas Gage, who arrived in America in 1640. It was the 19th century, however, that would bring Gage prominence in the financial world.

Early Career

Gage began his career in 1850 as a baggage boy for a railroad company in Rome, New York. Three years later, he moved to Chicago and worked as a clerk at a lumber mill. By 1858, he had secured a position as a bookkeeper at a credit company. In 1868, he became cashier at the First National Bank of Chicago, where his career began to soar.

Rise in Finance

Gage's rise in the financial world was rapid. In 1882, he was elected the first president of the Chicago Bankers Club and became vice president (and later president) of the American Bankers Association. Gage also played an active role in public life, chairing the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, serving as a director of the Art Institute of Chicago, and leading the Chicago Civic Federation for two years.

Treasury Secretary

In 1892, Gage became president of the First National Bank of Chicago. The same year, he declined an offer from President Grover Cleveland to become Secretary of the Treasury. However, in January 1897, President William McKinley again offered the position, and Gage accepted. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 6 of that year.

As Secretary of the Treasury, Gage followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, stabilizing the financial sector. He established the Treasury's role as a central bank and oversaw the passage of the Gold Standard Act in 1900. Gage also laid the groundwork for the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913.

Later Years

After McKinley's assassination in 1901, Gage was retained by his successor, Theodore Roosevelt, to prevent panic in the financial markets. However, Gage was replaced on January 31, 1902, by Leslie M. Shaw. That same year, Gage became president of the American Trust Company in New York. He retired in 1907 and moved to California, where he died on January 26, 1926.

Personal Life

Gage was married three times. In 1864, he married Sarah Atheridge. After her death in 1874, he married Cornelia Washburn, his brother's widow, in 1887. In 1907, he married Frances Ballou.