Herbert E. Gaston

Herbert Earle Gaston (August 20, 1881 – December 7, 1956) was an American newspaper editor who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States from 1949 until his 1953.

Herbert E. Gaston
Gaston, 1939
President of the Export-Import Bank
In office
1949–1953
Preceded byWilliam McChesney Martin
Succeeded byGlen E. Edgerton
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
In office
June 23, 1939 – December 2, 1945
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Preceded byWayne Chatfield-Taylor
Succeeded byEdward H. Foley
Personal details
Born(1881-08-20)August 20, 1881
Halsey, Oregon
DiedDecember 7, 1956(1956-12-07) (aged 75)
Los Angeles, California
Spouse
Ethel Bell
​
(after 1907)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Washington
University of Chicago

Early life

Gaston was born on August 20, 1881, in Halsey, Oregon. He was the son of Maria Glasgow (née Irvine) Gaston and William Hawks Gaston, a merchant and farmer.[1] His maternal grandfather was the Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Samuel Glasgow Irvine, D.D.[2]

He attended schools in Tacoma, Washington before studying at the University of Washington from 1903 to 1904 and the University of Chicago from 1904 to 1906.[1]

Career
Photograph of Gaston on the day of his nomination as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 1939

Gaston began at working in newspapers in Tacoma, Seattle and Chicago as a reporter, printer and assistant city editor on the Tacoma Tribune. From 1898 to 1910, he worked for the West Coast Trade in Tacoma, the Seattle Times, the Tacoma Ledger and the Chicago Record-Herald. From 1910 to 1916, he was assistant editor of the Spokane Chronicle before becoming editor of the Nonpartisan Leader in Fargo, North Dakota. The next year he edited the Fargo Courier-News before resuming work with the Nonpartisan League from 1918 to 1920. In 1920, he helped establish the Minneapolis Star.[1] After a rift with the other members of the Minneapolis Star over Gaston's expose on gambling interests in the Twin Cities, he moved to New York City where he worked for the New York World, serving as night editor until the paper closed in 1931.[1]

After the closure of the New York World, Gaston went to work for Henry Morgenthau Jr. as secretary of the New York State Conservation Department, becoming a deputy commissioner within a year. After leaving the State government, Gaston became secretary of the Federal Farm Board and deputy governor of the Farm Credit before being appointed special assistant to Morgenthau in November 1933, handling public relations.[1]

In 1939,[3] Gaston became Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under then Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau, with jurisdiction over the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Bureau of Narcotics.[4] Gaston left the treasury in 1945,[5] to become vice-chairman and director of the Export-Import Bank.[6] In 1949, he succeeded William McChesney Martin as bank president and chairman,[7] holding both posts until his retirement in 1953.[1][8]

Personal life

On October 16, 1907, he married Ethel Bell. Together, they were the parents of two children,[1] including:[9]

Gaston died on December 7, 1956, at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center in California.[13]

References
  1. Onofrio, Jan (1 January 1999). Oregon Biographical Dictionary. Somerset Publishers, Inc. pp. 60–62. ISBN 978-0-403-09841-5. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  2. Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley, Oregon: Containing Original Sketches of Many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present ... Chapman Publishing Company. 1903. pp. 508–510. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (2 June 1939). "H.E. GASTON NAMED ASSISTANT SECRETARY; President Picks Morgenthau's Aide for Treasury Promotion". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  4. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (24 June 1939). "H.E. Gaston Sworn and Praised". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  5. "NAMED AIDE TO VINSON; E.H. Foley Jr. Is Nominated to Be Assistant Secretary". The New York Times. 9 April 1946. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  6. "CONFIRMS MARTIN, GASTON; Senate Approves Them as Directors of Export-Import Bank". The New York Times. 25 November 1945. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  7. "EXIM History". Export Import Bank of the United States. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  8. "EXPORT BANK AIDE QUITS; Gaston, Chairman, Resigns for Reasons of Health". The New York Times. 16 December 1952. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  9. "Kramer '38, dean, Assistant U.S. Attorney General, scholar". hlrecord.org. Harvard University. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  10. Helsinger, Elizabeth K. (14 July 2014). Rural Scenes and National Representation: Britain, 1815-1850. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-6437-9. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  11. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (9 February 1941). "Mary Gaston Engaged; Washington Girl Will Become the Bride of Robert Kramer". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  12. Zielinski, Graeme (9 February 2001). "Retired GWU Law School Dean Robert Kramer Dies at Age 87". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  13. Times, Special to The New York (9 December 1956). "HERBERT GASTON, EX-U.S.AIDE,DIES; Former Assistant Secretary of Treasury Had Headed Export-Import Bank". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
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