Gordon Sohn Rentschler (November 25, 1885 – March 3, 1948) was a chairman of

First National City Bank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

, a predecessor of

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...

Biography

Rentschler was born in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...

, on November 25, 1885. His father was George A. Rentschler, one of the principals of the

Hooven-Owens-Rentschler The firm of Hooven, Owens, Rentschler, and Company manufactured steam and diesel engines in Hamilton, Ohio. Because the firm was frequently known by its initials, H.O.R., the ''Hooven'' is sometimes incorrectly rendered as ''Hoover'', and the '' ...

engine manufacturer. His brother was a Frederick Brant Rentschler. He graduated as president of the class at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1907 and returned to the family business. Following a flood in 1913 he worked with National City to secure a $35 million bond issue for permanent flood control issues. His actions drew the attention of

Charles E. Mitchell Charles Edwin Mitchell (October 6, 1877 – December 14, 1955) was an American banker whose incautious securities policies facilitated the speculation which led to the Crash of 1929. First National City Bank's (now Citibank) abuses under his l ...

who became his patron at the bank. In 1921, following a collapse of sugar prices in Cuba, he acted on behalf of National City in dealing with the problem (his family interests had been in providing machines for the industry). In 1923 he was offered a directorship at the company at the age of 38—the youngest director in the bank's history at the time. He would commute once a week to New York. In 1925 he left management of his family business for First National. He was elevated to chairman in 1940. Rentschler died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while still chairman of the bank and on trip to Cuba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rentschler, Gordon 1885 births 1948 deaths Citigroup people People from Hamilton, Ohio Princeton University alumni