Topic: Andrew Mellon

Andrew William Mellon (March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937) was an American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector and Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932.

Mellon was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., on March 24, 1855. His father was Thomas Mellon, a banker and judge who was a Scots-Irish immigrant from County Tyrone, Ireland; his mother was Sarah Jane Negley Mellon. He was also brother of Richard B. Mellon. He was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh), graduating in 1873.

Mellon demonstrated financial ability early in life. In 1872 he was set up in a lumber and coal business by his father and soon turned it into a profitable enterprise. He joined his father's banking firm, T. Mellon & Sons, two years later and had ownership of the bank transferred to him in 1882. In 1889, Mellon helped organize the Union Trust Company and Union Savings Bank of Pittsburgh. He also branched into industrial activities: oil, steel, shipbuilding, and construction.