Robert Scott Lovett (June 22, 1860 – June 19, 1932) was an American lawyer and railroad executive. He was president and chairman of the board of the Union Pacific Railroad and a Director of both The National City Bank of New York and Western Union.Directory
''Directory of Directors in the City of New York'', Audit Company, New York, 1915. pages 797 and 845. Retrieved February 22, 2018.

Biography

Early life

Robert Scott Lovett was born in San Jacinto, Texas. He was the son of William Lovett and Susan Hardy Lovett. His mother died in 1861 when Robert was only one year old; he was raised by Sarah Elizabeth "Sally" Hood Lovett, his father's second wife. He attended Houston High School. Lovett studied law privately and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1882.

Career

Lovett served as counsel for the Houston East & West Texas Railroad from 1884 to 1889. He then served as council for the Texas the Pacific from 1891 to 1903. From 1904 to 1909 Robert S. Lovett was general counsel, and after 1909 president, of the E. H. Harriman system of railroads—the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific. In the wake of the Northern Securities Case he was compelled to dissolve the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

and Union Pacific

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

in 1913. In 1914 he accepted directorships in the

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

and

Nickel Plate The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York, Pennsylva ...

railroads. Consequently, the Lovett family settled into a "Gold Coast" mansion at Locust Valley, New York. During World War I he filled important positions in the management of railroads, and was chosen president (1919) and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

(1920) of the Union Pacific System.

Personal life

In 1890, Lovett married Lavinia Chilton Abercrombie, daughter of lawyer and Texas state senator

Leonard A. Abercrombie Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

, granddaughter of Justice

William Parish Chilton William Parish Chilton (August 10, 1810 – January 20, 1871) was an American politician and author who served as a Deputy from Alabama to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1862. Early life Called Will Chilton, h ...

. His wife died in 1928. Their only child was noted politician

Robert A. Lovett Robert Abercrombie Lovett (September 14, 1895May 7, 1986) was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, having been promoted to this position from Deputy Secretary of Defense. He served in the cabinet of President of the United States, Presi ...

. Lovett died on July 19, 1932, at the Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Legacy

References

* Bryant, Keith L., Jr., Editor. ''Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography, Railroads in the Twentieth Century.'' New York: Facts on File, 1990. * Frey, Robert L., Editor. ''Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography, Railroads in the Nineteenth Century.'' New York: Facts on File, 1988. * Klein, Maury. ''The Life and Legend of E.H. Harriman.'' Chapel Hill .C. University of North Carolina Press, 2000.

External links

* 1860 births 1932 deaths People from Walker County, Texas American lawyers 20th-century American railroad executives Union Pacific Railroad people Southern Pacific Railroad {{US-rail-bio-stub