John Milton Hancock
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John Milton Hancock (February 2, 1883 – September 25, 1956) was an American engineer, navy man, interim-manager and Wall Street banker.University of North Dakota, Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections,
John M. Hancock Papers, 1903-1956; Administrative/Biographical History
" at ''apps.library.und.edu.'' Accessed 12-05-2017
He is known for distinguished achievement in
industrial management In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perfe ...
in the private and public sector, for which he has been awarded the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal in 1944.


Biography


Youth and education

Born in
Emerado, North Dakota Emerado is a city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States located near Grand Forks Air Force Base. It is part of the "Grand Forks, ND- MN Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "Greater Grand Forks". The population was 443 at the 2020 cen ...
in 1883, Hancock was the son of Henry and Isabel (Irvine) Hancock. A 1950 newspaper article recalled, that "it was thirty below zero the February 2, 1883, that John Milton Hancock was born in Emerado... by the light of a kerosene lamp. If life in North Dakota lacked modern conveniences, it was also remarkably free of modern apprehensions." Hancock's father originated from Canada, had set up a farm in North Dakota in 1878, and had founded the town of Emerado. In town he was also partner in the local hardware store and a realtor in the township. The family originated from Britain, and one of their forebears had been British drummer boy at the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
. In 1897 the family moved to
Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...
, where after preparatory college Hancock attended the
University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...
obtaining his AB in 1903. At the University Hancock participated in the football team, until serious injuries forced him out of the game three years later. In those days he also participated in the newly founded literary society, and was editor-in-chief of ''The Student,'' the student magazine of the university.


Early career in the US navy

After a year as principal in a high school in Tower City, North Dakota, Hancock enlisted in the US Navy in 1904. He joined Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, and started as storekeeper in Olongapo Naval Station in the Philippines, now the
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. The base was 262 square miles, about the size of Singapore. Th ...
, and out on the see with the USS Galveston. In the last five years before
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 ...
Hancock served Navy yards back in the States in Boston, Philadelphia, and Puget Sound, and returned to the Philippines to the Naval Base Cavite. he was on the ''Wilmington''-class gunboat ''
USS Helena Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS ''Helena'', after the city of Helena, Montana. * was a gunboat in service from 1897 to 1932. * was a light cruiser, commissioned in 1939, that saw heavy action in the Solomon Islands dur ...
'' on the Yangtze River in China, when war broke loose. In 1914 Hancock was appointed head of the US Navy
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts The Bureau of Supplies and Accounts (BuSandA) was the United States Navy's supply organization between 1892 and 1966. Established in 1842 as the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, the bureau was responsible for the procurement, receipt, storage, s ...
, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander in 1916, and commander in 1918. The University of North Dakota (2017) recalled that "ss head of the purchasing division, Hancock made purchases of Navy supplies in excess of $2 million per day. He designed a system based on commodity sections: estimates were made to reflect as closely as possible the Navy’s material needs, and contact was maintained with the country’s industries. The Navy's newly legalized authority to award contracts based on profitability prompted the War Industries Board to form a price-fixing committee, of which Hancock was a member. From April to August 1917, he served on the General Munitions Board, and in 1919 accompanied
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 ...
, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, to dispose of accumulated naval equipment overseas. Hancock also established organizations to settle claims against the Navy."


Private sector and back in Washington

After World War I Hancock moved to the private sector to join the Lehman Brothers in New York City, where he came into prominence. His first assignment was the reorganization of the Jewel Tea Company in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, nowadays part of Jewel (supermarket). Again the University of North Dakota (2017), recalled that the "Jewel Tea Company, Chicago, Illinois... had been financed by them and was now deep in debt. The company had been operating at an annual loss of $2 million, along with a substantial debt of $4.5 million. Hancock came on board as vice-president and under his watch implemented corrective strategies: unprofitable branches were closed, low-volume routes were dropped, inventories were substantially reduced to provide badly needed cash, common dividends were canceled, and preferred dividends were deferred. After these changes were implemented, the result was a complete turnaround for the company. By 1924, the company's annual profit was $750,000." In 1922 Hancock had been appointed assigned president of the Jewel Tea Company, and in 1924 he became partner in Lehman Brothers, a milestone since he was the first partner not to be a Lehman family member. In the next decennia Hancock was interim-director in more company's such as Sears,
Cluett Peabody & Company Cluett Peabody & Company, Inc. once headquartered in Troy, New York, was a longtime manufacturer of shirts, detachable shirt cuffs and collars, and related apparel. It is best known for its Arrow brand collars and shirts and the related Arrow Coll ...
, Brunswick Corporation, and Kroger. In the 1930s he also got into civil affairs. Hancock was also involved in civil affairs again. He was executive officer in the
National Recovery Administration The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a prime agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in 1933. The goal of the administration was to eliminate "cut throat competition" by bringing industry, labor, and governmen ...
in 1933, member of the War Production Board in 1939, and assistant director in the
Office of War Mobilization The Office of War Mobilization (OWM) was an independent agency of the United States government formed during World War II to coordinate all government agencies involved in the war effort. It was formed on May 27, 1943 by Executive Order 9347. ...
in 1943 appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1942 he had done a government survey of the rubber industry with
Bernard Baruch Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman. After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in ...
, and in 1946 again joined him as general manager of the U.S. Delegation to the
United Nations Atomic Energy Commission The United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC) was founded on 24 January 1946 by the very first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly "to deal with the problems raised by the discovery of atomic energy." The General Assembly asked ...
.


Reception

One of Hancock's most remarkable accomplishments was reported in ''
Time (magazine) ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published Weekly newspaper, weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New ...
'' in 1944: :"For about 18 months the Army, Navy and other war procurement agencies have quick-fingered a hot potato that never grew cool. The problem: How could U.S. war contracts be ended uniformly and quickly so that the industrial plant could speedily shift from one war product to another and reconvert without waste motion at the war's end? : When a solution seemed finally impossible, the hot potato was tossed over to Elder Statesman Bernie Baruch and his assistant, ex-Wall Street Banker John Milton Hancock. The two cooled it off in just two months and two days. Then the Baruch-Hancock combination presented Home Front Czar
James F. Byrnes James Francis Byrnes ( ; May 2, 1882 – April 9, 1972) was an American judge and politician from South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in U.S. Congress and on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as in the executive branch, mos ...
with a contract-cancellation clause, ready-made to fit almost all fixed-fee contracts. Promptly Czar Jimmy ordered it put into effect...""Briton Hadden, Henry Robinson Luce. ''Time,'' Vol. 43. 1944, p. 84 In recognition of his achievements Hancock received US Navy Distinguished Service Cross in 1919, the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal in 1945 by the American Management Association and the ASME, and the US Army Medal of Merit in 1948. In 1950 the Hamilton College in New York, and the New York University both granted him an honorary degrees.


Publications

*
Bernard Baruch Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman. After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in ...
, John M. Hancock.
Report on war and post-war adjustment policies. February 15, 1944
'' Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1944. ;Articles, a selection * Hancock, John M. "There must be no veto on atomic bombs." ''New York Times Magazine'' (New York) Dec. 15, 1946: 54-56. ; Publications about John Milton Hancock * American Management Association, ''The Henry Laurence Gantt Memorial Gold Medal: John Milton Hancock, medalist,'' 1945. * American Institute of Management. "John Milton Hancock," in: ''National Biographic,'' Volume 1, 1953. * ''Mr. Hancock and the Bomb; A Camera exploration of Chicago,'' ''Fortune,'' February 1947. * Frank J. Allston. "Lieutenant Commander John Milton Hancock, PC, USN," in: ''Ready for Sea: The Bicentennial History of the U.S. Navy Supply Corps,'' 1995, p. 178.


References


External links


John M. Hancock Papers, 1903-1956
University of North Dakota
Picture of John M. Hancock and Robert Lehman, 1946
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, John Milton 1883 births 1956 deaths American mechanical engineers People from Grand Forks County, North Dakota Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients