McDonald, Harry A. Papers

Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission, 1949-1952; Administrator, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 1952-1953

The papers of Harry A. McDonald relate mostly to his service as a member and chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as administrator of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The collection contains correspondence, biographical information, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, programs, invitations, speeches, and memorabilia.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 10 linear inches (about 1,200 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the United States government all of her copyrights in this collection. Documents created by U. S. government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of the documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Dennis E. Bilger (1979); Molly Chambers (2012).

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1894 (June 17)		Born Harry Alexander McDonald, Cherokee, IA
1912-1915		Student at Iowa State Teachers College
1917		Ph.B., University of Chicago
1917-1919		Served in the U.S. Navy
1919-1932		Private business, Cleveland, OH and Detroit, MI
1932		Co-founded the Detroit investment firm, McDonald, Moore & Hayes, Inc., which became McDonald-Moore & Co. in 1936
1934		Founded H. A. McDonald Creamery Co.
1939-1941		Chairman, Michigan Unemployment Compensation Commission
1947-1949		Commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission
1949-1952		Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
1952-1953		Administrator, Reconstruction Finance Corporation
1962-1964		Chairman of the Board, Allied Capital Corporation
1964 (July 2)		Died, Washington, D.C.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Harry A. McDonald relate mostly to his service on the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1947 to 1952 and as administrator of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation from 1952 to 1953. The collection contains correspondence, biographical information, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, programs, invitations, speeches, and memorabilia. The papers are arranged alphabetically in a single series.

The collection includes correspondence, mostly of a personal nature, with such people as President Harry S. Truman, Margaret Truman, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Alben Barkley, along with invitations to several receptions at the White House given by the President and Mrs. Truman.

The collection also contains programs from various dinners and social events, other printed materials, and a transcript of a press conference held by McDonald in 1953.

The collection includes photocopies of a number of photographs of McDonald, and an autographed portrait of his friend, Senator Arthur Vandenberg. The original photographs have been transferred to the Truman Library's audiovisual collection.

Speeches delivered by McDonald as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as administrator of the Reconstruction Finance Commission are also included in the collection.

The collection also contains newspaper and magazine clippings from three scrapbooks. They mostly concern McDonald and his careers in business and government.

Related information can be found in the papers of Harry S. Truman, especially in Official File 143 (Securities and Exchange Commission), Official File 210-B (Reconstruction Finance Corporation), and President's Personal File 5996 (Harry A. McDonald).

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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