Voting Station

Andrew Mellon

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Financier

The Resume

    (March 24, 1855-August 27, 1937)
    Graduated University of Pittsburgh (1873)
    Started a lumber business at 17
    Inherited his retiring father's bank, T. Mellon & Sons (1882)
    Owned coal, iron, oil, aluminum, steel, shipbuilding and construction companies as well as banks
    Established the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research (1913)
    President of the Mellon National Bank (1902-1921)
    Wrote Taxation: The People's Business (1924)
    Secretary of the Treasury in the Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover administrations (March 4, 1921-February 12, 1932)
    Ambassador to Great Britain (1932-1933)
    Retired (1934)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was physically frail.
    He resigned as ambassador to Great Britain when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected.
    He was investigated by the IRS for tax evasion in 1935 (but exonerated four months after his death).
    He married at age 45.
    He praised Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy, as 'a strong man with sound ideas and the force to make these ideas effective.'
    His policies helped grow the economy of the 1920's but were insufficient to stop the overwhelming blow of the Great Depression.
    He was honored on a US postage stamp.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He helped redesign paper currency so that it was easier to carry and more difficult to counterfeit.
    He contributed to the rise of America as an economic superpower.
    He was an early venture capitalist who sought out promising enterprises and backed entrepreneurs with his money.
    He opposed high taxes because they would increase the cost of living and doing business.
    He gave his art collection to the public along with $10 million to build the National Gallery of Art.
    He ran the government budget tightly and helped cut government spending nearly in half during his term as well as lowering taxes and reducing government debt by a third.
    He criticized the government's tendency to increase spending faster than the rate of revenue growth.
    The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research was a co-founder of Carnegie Mellon University.
    He was a philanthropist and gave large amounts of money to worthy causes both through his own foundation and the Red Cross, National Research Council, and other organizations.
    He is considered the greatest Treasury Secretary since Alexander Hamilton.

Credit: Wang


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 91.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 18 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 67 Votes: 65.67% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 24 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 34 Votes: 61.76% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 55 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 111 Votes: 49.55% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 215 Votes: 60.47% Annoying