Frederic Adrian Delano II (September 10, 1863 – March 28, 1953) was an American railroad president
who served as the first
Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve
The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the second-highest officer of the Federal Reserve, after the chair of the Federal Reserve. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair presides over the meetings Board of ...
from 1914 to 1916. After his term as vice chairman, Delano continued to serve as a member of the
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mon ...
until 1918.
Early life
Delano was born in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
on September 10, 1863.
He was a member of the
Delano family
In the United States, members of the Delano family include U.S. presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant and Calvin Coolidge, astronaut Alan B. Shepard, and writer Laura Ingalls Wilder. Its progenitor is Philippe de Lannoy (1602†...
as a son of
Warren Delano Jr.
Warren Delano Jr. (July 13, 1809 – January 17, 1898) was an American merchant and drug smuggler who made a large fortune smuggling illegal opium into China. He was the maternal grandfather of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Early ...
and Catherine Robbins Lyman. He was a brother of
Warren Delano IV
Warren Delano IV (July 11, 1852 – September 9, 1920) was an American horseman and coal tycoon.
Early life
Delano was born at Algonac, the family estate in Balmville near Newburgh, New York in 1852. He was a member of the Delano family as a s ...
and
Sara Ann Delano
Sara Ann Roosevelt ( Delano; September 21, 1854 – September 7, 1941) was the second wife of James Roosevelt I (from 1880), the mother of President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her only child, and subsequently the mother ...
, and uncle of U.S. President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
.
Like his older brother Warren, he graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1885.
Career
After his graduation from Harvard, Delano was employed by the
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
in various capacities, rising from the position of
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
to be general manager at
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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. For a time he was consulting engineer to the
United States War Department
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...
in respect to the railroads of the
Philippine Islands
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. In 1905, he became president of the
Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, of the
Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, ...
, and of the
Wabash Railroad
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...
. Delano was appointed one of the receivers for the Wabash in 1911, and in 1913, he was elected president of the
Monon Railroad
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Ra ...
(succeeding
Fairfax Harrison
Fairfax Harrison (March 13, 1869 – February 2, 1938) was an American lawyer, businessman, and writer. The son of the secretary to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Harrison studied law at Yale University and Columbia University befor ...
). He was vice president of the
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Uni ...
in 1907.
His addresses were published under the titles ''Questions of the Hour'' (1911) and ''Are Our Railroads Fairly Treated?'' (1913). He was also the chairman of the influential
National Capital Park and Planning Commission and helped approve and oversee the building of
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
.
Legacy
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 ...
work through the
Commercial Club of Chicago
The Commercial Club of Chicago is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit 501(c)_organization#501(c)(4), 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded in 1877 with a mission to promote the social and economic vitality of the Chicago metropolitan are ...
, which has been said to have strongly impacted his nephew's presidential policies. Delano was Chairman of the
Committee on the Regional Plan for New York and Its Environs, which released the regional plan for New York on May 27, 1929.
He was also a member of the
Commercial Club of Chicago
The Commercial Club of Chicago is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit 501(c)_organization#501(c)(4), 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded in 1877 with a mission to promote the social and economic vitality of the Chicago metropolitan are ...
which affected the development of Chicago in the 19th and 20th centuries. Delano was the first vice-chairman 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 of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
and the National Resources Planning Board.
His house on 2244 S Street NW in the
Kalorama neighborhood of
Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, designed by
Waddy Butler Wood
Waddy Butler Wood (1869 – January 25, 1944) was a prominent American architect of the early 20th century and resident of Washington, D.C. Although Wood designed and remodeled numerous private residences, his reputation rested primarily o ...
in 1924, survives as the Residence of the
Irish Ambassador.
Personal life
In 1888, Frederic was married to Matilda Anne Peasley (1867–1953). Together, they were the parents of five children, all daughters, including:
* Catherine Lyman Delano (1889–1951),
who married Alexander Galt Grant.
* Louise Delano (1891–1923), who married
Sherwood Cheney
Sherwood Alfred Cheney (August 24, 1873 – March 13, 1949) was an American military engineer who served as a brigadier general in the US Army Corps of Engineers during World War I and as an aide to President Calvin Coolidge.
Early life and e ...
(1873–1949), Commandant of the
U.S. Army Engineer School
The United States Army Engineer School (USAES) is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It was founded as a School of Engineering by General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge on 9 June 1778. The U.S. Army Engineer School provides training that ...
.
* Laura Delano (1893–1978), who married James Lawrence Houghteling (1883–1962). His sister Josephine Houghteling was married to financier
Frank Gray Griswold.
* Matilda Delano (1899–1911), who died young.
* Alice Delano (1903–1904), who died young.
Delano died in
Newburgh, New York
Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...
on March 28, 1953.
References
External links
Statements and Speeches of Frederic A. DelanoCollection of various works and letters written by Adrian Delano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delano, Frederic Adrian
1863 births
1953 deaths
20th-century American railroad executives
American Unitarians
Frederic Adrian
Harvard University alumni
People from Kalorama (Washington, D.C.)
Progressive Era in the United States
Vice Chairs of the Federal Reserve
Woodrow Wilson administration personnel