Charles Barney Harding

Charles Barney Harding (September 11, 1899 – October 25, 1979) was an American financier who served as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Smith, Barney & Co., and the New York Botanical Gardens.

Charles Barney Harding
Harding in 1922
Born(1899-09-11)September 11, 1899
Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 1979(1979-10-25) (aged 80)
Rumson, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationGroton School
Alma materUnited States Military Academy
OccupationFinancier
Spouse
Marion Choate
​
​
(1926⁠–⁠1979)​
Children2
Parent(s)J. Horace Harding
Dorothea Barney Harding
RelativesCharles D. Barney (grandfather)
Laura Barney Harding (sister)
William Barclay Harding (brother)

Early life

Harding was born in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1899 and grew up in a townhouse on Fifth Avenue.[1] He was the eldest of four children born to James Horace Harding (1863–1929)[2] and Dorothea Elizabeth Allen (née Barney) Harding (1871–1935).[3] His siblings were Catherine (née Harding) Tailer (wife of polo player Lorillard Suffern Tailer),[4] socialite and philanthropist Laura Barney Harding (who was a close friend of Katharine Hepburn),[5] and banker William Barclay Harding.[6][7] His father was a banker and financier who served as a director of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the New York Municipal Railways System.[8]

At West Point in 1920

His maternal grandparents were Charles D. Barney and Laura (née Cooke) Barney (a daughter of Philadelphia financier Jay Cooke).[9][10] His grandfather, a former member of his great-grandfather's firm, Jay Cooke & Company,[11] founded Charles D. Barney & Co. in 1873 before retiring in 1907.[12] The business continued, under the same name with his father helping to run the firm.[12]

Harding prepared at the Groton School in Massachusetts before attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, from where he graduated in 1920. After graduation, he served two years as a lieutenant in the field artillery. Years later, Harding joined the U.S. Navy Reserve shortly before the U.S. entered World War II. He went on active duty in May 1941,[13] and was discharged four years later as a captain.[14]

Career

In 1922, he joined the family business, Charles D. Barney & Co. and was made a partner in 1925.[15] In 1937, the firm merged with Edward B. Smith & Co. to form Smith, Barney & Co. which began operations January 1, 1938.[16] At his direction, the firm "recruited business school graduates, then put them through eight‐and‐a‐half months of training in what was sometimes referred to on The Street as 'Harding Tech.'" After a four and a half years in the Naval Reserve, he returned as senior partner in January 1946.[15] In May 1964, he surrendered the office of president to Nelson Schaenen while remaining chief executive officer.[17] On December 31, 1964, Harding retired as chairman of Smith, Barney & Co. in favor of his brother, who had been vice chairman.[14]

In the late 1930's, he served as a governor of the New York Stock Exchange,[18] and helped revise the Exchange's constitution before serving as chairman of the Exchange from May 1940 to May 1941;[19] he did not run for reelection because of his impending Naval service.[20]

After his retirement from of Smith, Barney & Co., he devoted his time to the New York Botanical Gardens, the Arthritis Foundation, serving as chairman from 1970 to 1976, and the Frick Collection, where he was treasurer for many years.[14] He later relinquished his chairmanships with the botanical gardens and the Arthritis Foundation, but continued working with them and the Frick Collection until his death.[14]

Personal life

In 1926, married Marion Choate (1905–1979), a daughter of lawyer Joseph H. Choate Jr. and Cora Lyman (née Oliver) Choate (a daughter of Gen. Robert Shaw Oliver). Her paternal grandparents were U.S. Ambassador Joseph Hodges Choate and Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate[21] Marion had her debut in 1925.[22] Together, they lived at 110 East 71st Street,[23] and, later, 48 East 74th Street, and were the parents of two children, a daughter a son:[24]

  • Joan Harding (1927- 2011), who married Thomas James King (1925–1994), a son of Thomas J. King, Sr., in 1950.[25][26]
  • Robert Shaw Oliver Harding (b. 1931),[23] who married Nancy Joyce Dickey, daughter of Col. Joseph Kingsley Dickey, in 1958;[27][28] they divorced and he married Diana Pike, a daughter of Carleton M. Pike and granddaughter of Mayor Edwin Upton Curtis, in 1966.[29][30]

The Hardings regularly spent their winters in Barbados and their summers in Martha's Vineyard, where they had a home. He was "an ardent sailor" who was an "enthusiastic trout fisherman" along the coasts of New Jersey and Cape Cod.[14]

Harding died at his home in Rumson, New Jersey on October 26, 1979.[14]

References
  1. Court, United States Tax (1948). Reports of the Tax Court of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 1054–1055. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  2. "J. Horace Harding, Banker, Dies at 65; Director in Many Corporations Had Been Ill Only Since New Year's Night. Influential in Finance He Aided Plans for Beautification of Long Island--Trustee of Frick Art Collection". The New York Times. January 5, 1929. p. 13. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  3. "Mrs. J. H. Harding, 63, Arts Patroness, Dies; Widow of Former Chairman of Board of American Railway Express Company". The New York Times. February 24, 1935. p. 29. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  4. "Katherine Harding, Mrs. L.S. Tailer". www.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  5. Hutto, Richard Jay (2006). Their Gilded Cage: The Jekyll Island Club Members. Indigo Custom Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-9770912-2-5. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  6. "Constance Fox Wed to W.B. Harding; Ceremony in Italian Garden of the Ambassador Arranged to Represent a Chapel. Mgr. Lavelle Officiates Bridal Procession Passes Through Floral Lane--Choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral Sings. Father Escorts the Bride The Bridal Attendants. Reception in Ballroom". The New York Times. May 31, 1929. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  7. "William Barclay Harding Dead; Chairman of Smith, Barney, 60; He Helped Realign Structure of Many Corporations Interested in Aviation". The New York Times. July 1, 1967. p. 23. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  8. Hart, Thomas (1920). A Record of the Hart Family of Philadelphia: with a genealogy of the family, from its first settlement in America ; augmented by notes of the Collateral Branches, 1735-1920. p. 122. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. Preston, Eugene Dimon (1990). Genealogy of the Barney family in America. Barney Family Historical Association. p. 112. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  10. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (October 25, 1945). "CHARLES D. BARNEY, EX-BROKER, DIES, 101; Civil War Veteran, Son-in-Law of Jay Cooke and Founder of Investment House Married Jay Cooke's Daughter A Director of Many Firms". The New York Times. p. 21. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  11. Barnes, Andrew Wallace (1911). History of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Banks and Banking Interests. Cornelius Baker. p. 79. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  12. "Broker Charles D. Barney to Retire". The New York Times. June 18, 1907. p. 11. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Goes From Exchange Post To Duty With the Navy". The New York Times. May 16, 1941. p. 33 – Financial. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  14. Treaster, Joseph B. (November 3, 1979). "Charles Barney Harding, a Financier, Is Dead at 80; A Distinguished Family Chairman in '40 and '41". The New York Times. p. 26. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  15. "Returns to Smith, Barney After Serving in Navy". The New York Times. January 8, 1946. p. 31 – Business & Finance. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  16. "TWO WALL ST. FIRMS TO BE MERGED SOON; Edward B. Smith & Co. and Chas. D. Barney & Co. Will Join Forces About Jan. 1 BOTH BIG UNDERWRITERS Consolidated Concern Will Be Called Smith, Barney & Co.Organized in Philadelphia Purpose of Merger Founded in Philadeiphia". The New York Times. December 10, 1937. p. 39. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  17. "Smith, Barney & Co. Promotes Two High‐Ranking Executives". The New York Times. May 26, 1964. p. 53. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  18. "EXCHANGE REVISES COMMITTEE LISTS; Annual Changes in the Seven Standing Bodies Are Made by Governors of Market C.B. HARDING RE-ELECTED Vice Chairman of Board Will Continue--Paul V. Shields in Executive Group". The New York Times. May 16, 1939. p. B38. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  19. "FIGHT IS BREWING ON EXCHANGE SLATE; Some Brokers Indicate They Will Name an Independent Candidate for Chairman HARDING HEADS THE TICKET Partner in Smith, Barney & Co. Picked to Succeed Bartlett by Nominating Committee". The New York Times. April 9, 1940. p. 38 - Business & Finance. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  20. "EXCHANGE TO LOSE BOARD CHAIRMAN; Charles B. Harding Declares He Will Not Be Candidate for Re-election in May NAVAL SERVICE FORESEEN Holder of a Commission in Reserve Tells of Report to Nominating Group". The New York Times. March 5, 1941. p. 31 - Financial. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  21. Gabrielan, Randall (2003). Rumson: Shaping a Superlative Suburb. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2398-9. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  22. "MISS HELEN CHOATE MAKES HER DEBUT; Introduced at a Dance at Home of Her Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Choate Jr. LUNCHEON FOR DEBUTANTES Misses Elizabeth and Sophie Gay Entertained at Pierre's -- Miss Susan D. Tilton Presented". The New York Times. December 12, 1925. p. 15 - Amusements. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  23. "A Son to Mrs. Charles B. Harding". The New York Times. January 24, 1931. p. S18. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  24. "Descendants of Jay Cooke – Reunion Edition" (PDF). jaycookefamily.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  25. "MISS JOAN HARDING ENGAGED TO MARRY; Descendant of Joseph Choate Will Be Wed to Thomas J. King, Princeton Alumnus". The New York Times. February 25, 1950. p. 9. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  26. Studio, The New York Times (June 18, 1950). "MISS JOAN HARDING, THOMAS KING WED; MARRIED IN CHURCH CEREMONY HERE". The New York Times. p. 70. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  27. "Dickey--Harding". The Tampa Tribune. November 23, 1958. p. 108. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  28. "Miss Nancy Dickey". The New York Times. November 10, 1958. p. 34. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  29. "Diana Pike Engaged To Robert Harding". The New York Times. October 15, 1966. p. R17. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  30. "The Shaw Memorial" (PDF). npshistory.com. National Park Service. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
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