Thomas Sovereign Gates (March 21, 1873 – April 8, 1948) was an American

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

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He was the first president of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

from 6 October 1930 until 1944, and was the father of

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...

Thomas S. Gates, Jr.

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Gates was a student at

Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...

and

. He went into banking and eventually served as a director of several companies, including the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

, the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company, the

Baldwin Locomotive Company The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

, and more. Before his election as university president, Gates had served for ten years as a Trustee of the University and as Chairman of the University of Pennsylvania Fund. Gates was heavily involved in plans for the development of the new Valley Forge campus for the University; however, the idea was eventually dropped in favor of expanding Penn's West Philadelphia campus, not before currying strong support.University Archives and Records Center University of Pennsylvani
''Thomas Sovereign Gates''
retrieved on 29 April 2007 He worked to fund and create a number of other facilities throughout the university. Gates also worked on major fundraising efforts with a campaign known as the Bicentennial Fund, after the University's 1940

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

, which aimed to raise $12.5 million. Gates seemed to have partially foreseen America's involvement in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

when creating a position of University Committee on National Defense and started a defense training program within the university's engineering school. Following the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

Gates oversaw the use of the university campus as a training ground for American troops. He also worked to create a committee to oversee an overhaul of part-time courses and women's education systems. He worked to establish a College for Women by 1 July 1933 that would have the same curriculum as the current colleges. He created the Institute of State and Local Government in 1937, and the Fels Institute of the Wharton School in March of that year. Gates was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Thomas Sovereign Snr. American bankers University of Pennsylvania alumni 1873 births 1948 deaths Businesspeople from Philadelphia Chief Administrators of the University of Pennsylvania Members of the Philadelphia Club Germantown Academy alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society