Seymour Parker Gilbert (October 13, 1892 - February 23, 1938) was an American lawyer,

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and diplomat. He is chiefly known for being Agent General for Reparations to Germany, from October 1924 to May 1930. Afterwards, in 1931, he became an associate at

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

Early life

Parker Gilbert was the son of Seymour Parker and Carrie Jennings ( Cooper) Gilbert. Gilbert was educated at

Rutgers College Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, graduating at the age of 19, and received a L.L.B. from Harvard Law School at 22, where he was the editor of the Harvard Law Review from 1913-1915, and later an honorary degree in 1930 for his work in reparations.

Career

From 1915-1918, he practiced law with Cravath and Henderson in New York. At age 27, he was offered a cabinet post in the Wilson Administration, as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and continued to serve in the Harding Administration. In 1924, he was appointed Agent General for Reparations by the Allied Reparation Commission, succeeding the temporary

Owen D. Young Owen D. Young (October 27, 1874July 11, 1962) was an American industrialist, businessman, lawyer and diplomat at the Second Reparations Conference (SRC) in 1929, as a member of the German Reparations International Commission. He is known for t ...

. In that capacity, he was responsible for the execution of the

Dawes Plan The Dawes Plan (as proposed by the Dawes Committee, chaired by Charles G. Dawes) was a plan in 1924 that successfully resolved the issue of World War I reparations that Germany had to pay. It ended a crisis in European diplomacy following Wor ...

. Under the

Young Plan The Young Plan was a program for settling Germany's World War I reparations. It was written in August 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by American industrialist Owen D. Young, founder and for ...

, the

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...

was created, nullifying the position of Parker Gilbert. Gilbert served as Under Secretary of the Treasury from June 1921 – 1923 as well as Agent General of Reparations from October 1924 until May 1930, working with Weimar Germany to ensure loan repayments to America. Afterwards, in 1931, he became an associate at

, where he was known to put in long hours at the firm.

Personal life

He died at age 45, from 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 ma ...

. His son S. Parker Gilbert, born 1934, was chairman of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

during the 1980s. After his death, his wife, Louise Todd, married

Harold Stanley Harold Stanley (October 2, 1885 – May 14, 1963) was an American businessman and one of the founders of Morgan Stanley in 1935. For 20 years, he ran Morgan Stanley until he left the firm in 1955. Early life Stanley was born in Great Barring ...

, the co-founder of

References

The papers of S. Parker Gilbert

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker Gilbert, Seymour 1892 births 1938 deaths Rutgers University alumni Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers American bankers American diplomats United States Department of the Treasury officials Cravath, Swaine & Moore people