James Hazen Hyde

James Hazen Hyde (June 6, 1876—July 26, 1959) was the son of Henry Baldwin Hyde, the founder of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. James Hazen Hyde was twenty-three when he inherited the majority shares in the billion-dollar Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1899. Five years later, at the pinnacle of social and financial success, efforts to remove him from The Equitable set in motion the first great Wall Street scandal of the 20th century, which resulted in his resignation from The Equitable and relocation to France.

James Hazen Hyde was born in New York City on June 6, 1876. He graduated from the Cutler School, and received his degree from Harvard University in 1898. Hyde studied French history, language and literature, and was involved in efforts to establish an exchange program that enabled French authors and educators to lecture at universities in the United States, with American professors reciprocating at universities in France. Hyde's efforts included the endowment of a fund to defray professor's expenses, and he received the Legion of Honor (Chevalier) from the government of France.

Hyde was appointed a vice president of The Equitable after graduating from college. In addition, he served on the boards of directors of more than 40 other companies, including the Wabash Railroad and Western Union.

Besides his business activities, Hyde pursued several other hobbies and pastimes. His homes included a large estate on Long Island, where Hyde maintained horses, stables, roads, and trails to engage in coach racing. In addition to coach racing, he also took part in horse shows and horse racing. Hyde accumulated a collection of coaches and carriages, which he later donated to the Shelburne Museum.

Following his father's death, Hyde was the majority shareholder and in effective control of The Equitable. By the terms of his father's will he was scheduled to assume the presidency of the company in 1906. Members of the board of directors, including E. H. Harriman, Henry Clay Frick, J.P. Morgan, and company President James Waddell Alexander attempted to wrest control from Hyde through a variety of means, including an unsuccessful attempt to have him appointed as Ambassador to France.

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