S. Sloan Colt
Samuel Sloan Colt (July 13, 1892 – May 2, 1975)[1] was an American banker who served as president and chairman of Bankers Trust and a commissioner and chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Early life
Colt was born on July 13, 1892 in New York City. He was the only son of Richard Collins Colt (1863–1938) and Mary Adelaide (née Sloan) Colt (1868–1954). His younger sisters were Catherine Dunscomb Colt (wife of Charles Denston Dickey Jr., a senior partner at J.P. Morgan & Co.),[2] and Mary Sloan Colt, the wife of Louis Curtis.
His paternal grandparents were Harris Colt and Catherine (née Dunscomb) Colt. His maternal grandparents were Margaret (née Elmendorf) Sloan and Samuel Sloan, a former New York State Senator who was the longtime president of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad.[1]
In 1910, he graduated from the Groton School before attending Yale University, where he graduated in 1914.[1]
Career
After his graduation from Yale, Colt joined the Farmers' Loan & Trust Company. During World War I, he entered the army as a corporal and was honorably discharged as major. Returning to Farmers', Colt was a vice president from 1925 until 1929, when the company merged into the National City Bank (today known as Citibank).[1]
He joined Bankers Trust as a vice president and director in 1930 and became president the following year at the age of only 38. Upon his assumption of the presidency, he was also elected a director and a member of the executive committee. He was head of the bank for twenty-seven years and was made chairman in 1956 when Alex H. Ardrey became president. He retired in 1957 and was replaced as chairman by William Moore,[3] but continued as a director and member of the executive and trust committees until 1965.[1]
In 1946, he was appointed by Governor Thomas E. Dewey as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.[4] In 1959, he was elected chairman, serving until his retirement from both chairman and commissioner in 1968.[1]
Colt served as chairman of Eurofund Inc., from 1959 to 1968 and was a longtime trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (today known as Axa). He was a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1944 to 1946, the General Electric Company from 1940 to 1963, and the American Can Company from 1943 to 1965. He also served as a trustee and treasurer of the Tax Foundation, president of the New York Clearing House Association, 1955 and 1957, and president of the New York State Bankers' Association in 1935.[1]
Volunteer and philanthropy
Colt served as national chairman of of the War Fund Program in 1941 and 1942 and was a director and treasurer of its New York chapter from 1945 to 1958. From 1953 to 1961, Colt was a trustee of the endowment fund of the American Red Cross. He also served as a trustee and treasurer of the Metropolitan Opera Association from 1941 to 1957 and president and a trustee of the National Fund for Medical Education from 1949 to 1964.[1]
From 1951 to 1961, he was treasurer of Recordings for the Blind and from 1939 to 1958, he was a governor and a member of the executive committee of the Federal Hall Memorial Association.[1]
Personal life
In 1917, Colt was married to heiress Margaret Van Buren Mason, a daughter of George Grant Mason who inherited a large part of the James Henry Smith estate/.[5] Before their divorce in September 1945,[6] they lived in Tuxedo Park, New York and were the parents of three children:[1]
- Marion Mason Colt (1920–2000) who married MacLean Williamson (1911–1967), a son of Muriel (née Williams) Williamson Hoyt in 1941.
- Catherine C. Colt (1921–2013), who married attorney David Wendell Yandell (1910–1983) in 1940.
- Richard Colt (1924–1992), who married Cynthia De Bottari (1926–2016) in 1947.
After his divorce from Margaret, she remarried to Brig. Gen. Paul Everton Peabody of the Army War College,[7] and he remarried to Anne King (née Weld) McLane (1910–1982), a daughter of Edward Motley Weld of Tuxedo Park. After their marriage, they rented a two floor maisonette at 740 Park Avenue.[5] They later lived at River House at 435 East 52nd Street.[1] In 1961, Samuel Gottscho photographed the Colt's New York residence for documentation in the Library of Congress.[8]
Colt died on May 2, 1975 at his home in Westhampton Beach, New York.[1] He was buried at Westhampton Cemetery.
Honors and awards
In 1936, Colgate University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and, in 1950, New York University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science. In 1949, France made him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Freeman, William M. (May 3, 1975). "S. Sloan Colt of Port Authority And Bankers Trust Dead at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "J. P. Morgan & Co. Shifts Executives". The New York Times. August 6, 1953. p. 29. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "William Moore, 42, to Head Bankers Trust; Colt and Gersten to Retire From Top Posts Oct. 1 MOORE IS ELECTED BY BANKERS TRUST". The New York Times. September 19, 1957. p. 41. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (April 11, 1946). "S. SLOAN COLT NAMED TO PORT AUTHORITY". The New York Times. p. 20. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ a b Gross, Michael (2007). 740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building. Crown. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-307-41876-0. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (September 7, 1945). "SAMUEL S. COLT DIVORCED; Former Margaret Mason Gets Reno Decree From Banker". The New York Times. p. 25. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "MRS. COLT TO BE MARRIED; Former Margaret Mason and Gen. Paul Peabody to Wed". The New York Times. January 18, 1947. p. 12. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Mrs. Sloan Colt, residence at 435 E. 52nd St. Living room, to fireplace". www.loc.gov. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
External links
- Samuel Sloan Colt at Find a Grave
- 44 Years in American Banking: 1903-1947 by S. Sloan Colt. (1947) New York : Newcomen Society of England, American Branch