Thomas W. Lamont
| Thomas W. Lamont | |
|---|---|
Lamont circa 1918
|
|
| Born |
Thomas William Lamont, Jr. September 30, 1870 Claverack, New York |
| Died | February 2, 1948 (aged 77) Boca Grande, Florida |
| Education |
Phillips Exeter Academy Harvard University |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Years active | 1903-1947 |
| Employer | J.P. Morgan & Co. |
| Net worth | $25 million (1948) |
| Board member of | International Committee of Bankers on Mexico |
| Spouse(s) | Florence Haskell (Corliss) Lamont |
| Children | Corliss Lamont, Thomas Stilwell Lamont |
Thomas William Lamont, Jr. (September 30, 1870 – February 2, 1948) was an American banker.
Lamont was born in Claverack, New York. His parents were Thomas Lamont, a Methodist minister, and Caroline Deuel Jayne. Since his father was a minister, they moved around upstate New York a lot and were not very wealthy. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1888, where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Exonian, as well as the school yearbook and literary magazine. He then attended Harvard.
At Harvard College, he became first freshman editor of The Harvard Crimson, which helped him pay off some of his tuition. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1892. He met his wife, Florence Haskell Corliss, at the 1890 Harvard commencement. He started working under the city editor for the New York Tribune two days after he graduated from Harvard in 1892. He married Florence on October 31, 1895 in Englewood, New Jersey. He was also able to work for the Albany Evening Journal, Boston Advertiser, Boston Herald, and New York Tribune, which only paid $25, while at Harvard. While at the Tribune, he received many promotions, including night editor and helping the financial editor, which gave him his first taste of the financial world. He left journalism because of the low pay and went into business
He began working in business for Cushman Bros., which later became Lamont, Corliss, and Company, and turned it into a successful importing and marketing firm. It was an advertising agency that worked for food corporations. The company was in a bad financial status, but Lamont fixed it, and the company changed its name to Lamont, Corliss, and Company. He was partners with his brother-in-law, Corliss. His banking caught the attention of banker Henry P. Davison, who asked Thomas to join the newly started Bankers’ Trust. He started as secretary and treasurer and then moved up to being Vice President, and then was promoted to director. He rose to the vice presidency of the First National Bank.
Starting in the late 1910s, for many years, he financed the Saturday Review of Literature.
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