Frederick Henry Prince (November 30, 1860 – February 2, 1953) was an American

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

and

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

Early life

Prince was born in

Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, wealt ...

on November 30, 1860, the son of

Frederick O. Prince Frederick Octavius Prince (January 18, 1818 – June 6, 1899) was an American lawyer, politician, and mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. He was the father of financier Frederick H. Prince. Early life Frederick Prince was born in Boston, Mass ...

, former mayor of the city of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and Helen Susan ( Henry) Prince. Among his siblings were Gordon Prince, Charles Albert Prince, and Dr.

Morton Prince Morton Henry Prince (December 22, 1854 – August 31, 1929) was an American physician who specialized in neurology and abnormal psychology, and was a leading force in establishing psychology as a clinical and academic discipline. He was part o ...

. He studied at

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 ...

, but left in his sophomore year to get an early start in the business world. He acquired a seat on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

, on December 10, 1885, and retained his individual membership throughout his life.

Career

Prince made a fortune through his investments in a number of business ventures. Seeing the potential for the

stockyard Stockyard or Stockyards may refer to: Places * Stockyard, Queensland, Australia, locality in the Shire of Livingstone *Stockyard Landing, original name of Arabi, Louisiana *Stockyards, California, former town *Stockyards, nickname for the northw ...

business, during the first decade of the 20th century, he began buying up small companies, merging them into the giant Union Stockyards and Transit Company, of which he was chairman. To ensure control over delivery service to his stockyards, a significant and integral part of the food and tobacco sector, Prince's company acquired outright or held a controlling interest in the

Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...

and the

Chicago Junction Railway The Chicago Junction Railway operated a switching and terminal railroad in Chicago, connecting the Union Stock Yards with most other railroads in the city. It also briefly operated an outer belt, which became the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad in 190 ...

. Combined, these gave his stockyard operations hundreds of miles of rail lines and close to of land. In the early 1920s, Prince acquired

Armour and Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's most ...

, one of the country's major

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

s and

meatpacking The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...

operations. A friend of

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ke ...

, Prince helped finance Kennedy's 1925 acquisition of the Robertson-Cole/Film Book Offices, which would evolve into

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

. A Republican Party member and delegate to the 1928 convention, Prince aided President

Franklin D. 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 ...

efforts to pull America out of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s. In 1933, he formulated a widely debated program for consolidation for the nation's railroads. Known as the "Prince Plan", it was projected to create savings for the nation's railroads of $740 million annually. The plan was rejected, because it would have thrown thousands of workers out of their jobs. This experience led him to also propose sweeping changes in the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

to make the president more independent.

Sportsman

Prince was a member of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

, he owned the ''Weetamoe'', a

J-class yacht A J-Class yacht (sometimes called a "J-boat") is a single-masted racing yacht built to the specifications of Nathanael Herreshoff's Universal Rule. The J-Class are considered the peak racers of the era when the Universal Rule determined eligibi ...

. The ''Weetamoe'' competed for a berth in the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

, losing in the 1934 trials to the ultimate winner

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Harold Stirling Vanderbilt CBE (July 6, 1884 – July 4, 1970) was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, an innovator and champion player of contract bridge, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. Early life He was born in Oakdale, ...

and his yacht, ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

''. He owned a large number of horses and established numerous riding trails and carriage roads on his Princemere estate in Wenham. Prince was one of the nine founding members of the

National Steeplechase Association The National Steeplechase Association is the official sanctioning body of American steeplechase horse racing. The National Steeplechase Association was founded on February 15, 1895 by August Belmont Jr., the first president of The Jockey Club an ...

, created in 1895 to organize competitive steeplechase racing. In Pau, where he had a villa, he served as the

master of foxhounds Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...

for the Pau Hunt from 1910 to 1939 and was a generous member of the

English Club English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Personal life

In 1884, Prince was married to Abigail Kinsley Norman (1860–1949), a daughter of George H. Norman and Abby Durfee ( Kinsley) Norman of Newport. Together, they had two sons: * Frederick Henry Prince Jr. (1885–1962), who married Elizabeth Harding, a daughter of

William P. G. Harding William Proctor Gould Harding (May 5, 1864 – April 7, 1930) was an American banker who served as the second chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1916 to 1922. Prior to his term as chairman, Harding appointed a member of the Federal Reserve Boar ...

, in 1917. They divorced and she married Eugene Van Rensselaer

Thayer Thayer may refer to: Places ;United States * Thayer, Illinois * Thayer, Indiana * Thayer, Iowa * Thayer, Kansas * Thayer, Michigan * Thayer, Missouri * Thayer, Nebraska *Thayer, West Virginia * Thayer County, Nebraska * Thayer Street, Providence, ...

and he married Virginia Lucy ( Mitchell) Higginson, a daughter of Clarence Blair Mitchell and widow of

James J. Higginson James Jackson Higginson (June 19, 1836 – November 11, 1911) was an American stockbroker and soldier who was imprisoned at Libby Prison for nine months during the Civil War. Early life Higginson was born in New York City on June 19, 1836. He was ...

Jr. *

Norman Prince Norman Prince (August 31, 1887 – October 15, 1916) was an American aviator and leading founder of France's Lafayette Escadrille. Biography He was born on August 31, 1887 in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was son of Frederick Henry Prince. ...

(1887–1916), who died while flying with the

Lafayette Escadrille The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Ameri ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He died in Biarritz on February 2, 1953.

Residences

The Prinecs had a number of significant residences. They had a home in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

, and a villa in

Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau (, ) is a Communes of France, commune overlooking the Pyrenees, and prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The city is located in the heart o ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, known as Villa Sainte-Hélène (today the residence of the Préfet des Pyrénées-Atlantiques). He had a home in Boston, including Princemere, a estate at

Wenham, Massachusetts Wenham () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,979 at the time of the 2020 census. The town of Wenham, originally settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1643, has retained much of its historic character and rural scenery ...

he purchased in the 1890s. On the estate, he built a stone mansion in 1911. He also had a home in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the Sout ...

. In 1932, Prince bought

Marble House Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion located at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was built from 1888 to 1892 as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

from Mrs. Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont (formerly

Alva Vanderbilt Alva Erskine Belmont (née Smith; January 17, 1853 – January 26, 1933), known as Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was an American multi-millionaire socialite and women's suffrage activist. She was noted for her energy, intelligence, strong ...

). They had previously rented Crossways, the former

Stuyvesant Fish Stuyvesant Fish (June 24, 1851 – April 10, 1923) was an American businessman and member of the Fish family who served as president of the Illinois Central Railroad. He owned grand residences in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, entertain ...

estate that was then owned by Mrs. Morris de Peyster.

Legacy

In 1947, Frederick H. Prince and his wife established the Prince Charitable Trusts, that was a benefactor to various philanthropic endeavors in the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Washington, D.C. ) , 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, ...

and the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Following his death, Gordon College relocated to the Princemere estate in 1955. Today, his former home is known as Frost Hall and houses many of the College's faculty and administrative offices, as well as the Admissions Department.

References

External links

The International Tennis Club of Washington

Prince Charitable Trusts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Frederick H. 1860 births 1953 deaths America's Cup sailors American investors American people in rail transportation American male sailors (sport) American philanthropists Harvard University alumni Masters of foxhounds in the United States Members of the New York Yacht Club People from Wenham, Massachusetts People from Winchester, Massachusetts Businesspeople from Newport, Rhode Island Stock and commodity market managers Stockbrokers