J. Borden Harriman
Jefferson Borden Harriman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 2, 1914 (aged 50) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Occupation | Financier |
| Known for | Member of the Gilded Age's "hunting set"; spouse of Florence Jaffray Harriman |
Jefferson Borden Harriman (September 20, 1864 – December 2, 1914) was a financier based in New York and part of the Gilded Age's elite "hunting set." He gained recognition primarily as the devoted spouse of Florence Jaffray Harriman, a socialite who transformed into a progressive reformer and subsequently served as the United States Ambassador to Norway under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was related to the railroad magnate Edward Harriman, father of the prominent statesman W. Averell Harriman. Persistent gastrointestinal illness prompted his premature retirement and untimely death.
Early life
Born on September 20, 1864, J. Borden Harriman was the son of Oliver Harriman, who was a partner in a dry goods commission enterprise that eventually developed into the Manhattan-based investment banking firm Low, Harriman & Co., later known simply as Harriman & Co. His mother, Laura Low, was the daughter of James Low, Oliver’s business associate. Among his seven siblings were brothers James, Oliver Jr., Joseph, and Herbert, along with sisters Emeline Harriman Dodge Olin, Anna Harriman Sands Rutherfurd Vanderbilt, and Lillie Harriman Travers Havemeyer.
Following their mother’s passing in 1901, J. Borden and his siblings petitioned to have their 70-year-old father declared legally incompetent due to senile dementia; his estate at that time was appraised at over $5 million. Oliver Harriman passed away the next year.
J. Borden completed his education at Princeton University, graduating in 1885.
Career
Harriman entered his father’s investment banking firm after graduation. In 1903, he pursued election to the governing committee of the New York Stock Exchange but was unsuccessful despite receiving a nomination from the committee itself.
Together with other family members, he helped establish the Day and Night Bank in 1906, notable for being the first financial institution worldwide to operate around the clock. The bank pioneered features such as a dedicated branch catering exclusively to female clients and an automobile-based "safe on wheels" service designed to collect valuables directly from customers’ residences. By 1910, however, it curtailed its weekday operations by closing from midnight until 8 a.m.
Harriman resigned from the bank’s board in January 1911 when it was rebranded as the Harriman National Bank following a merger with Merchants' National Bank of New York. Despite this change, the bank remained heavily influenced by the Harriman family. During the financial upheaval of 1932–1933, however, it collapsed. Its long-serving president Joseph Wright Harriman—formerly affiliated with Harriman & Co.—was found guilty of embezzlement and served a prison sentence of 25 months.
U.S. Commission on Industrial Relations
At age 48, in early 1913, Harriman stepped down from his role at Harriman & Co. Later that year, President Woodrow Wilson appointed his wife to serve on the inaugural U.S. Commission on Industrial Relations. The couple relocated to Washington D.C., while maintaining their residence in New York and donating their estate in Mount Kisco, New York for use as a sanatorium specializing in tuberculosis treatment. In 1914, he lent his yacht SS Mohican to German prince Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich, who had been chosen as ruler of Albania.
During the summer of 1914, as World War I erupted, Harriman and his family were traveling in Europe. Seeking therapeutic benefits for his health condition, they visited the spa town of Karlsbad (then part of Austria-Hungary). After encounters with British and French officials amid escalating tensions, they departed Karlsbad shortly before Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and eventually returned to New York aboard a British armed vessel without their personal belongings.
Personal life
On November 13, 1889, Harriman united in marriage with Florence Jaffray Hurst, the daughter of shipping magnate F.W.J. Hurst. Their nuptials were graced by notable attendees such as Grover Cleveland, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Edward Harriman, John Jacob Astor IV, and J.P. Morgan. The couple had one daughter:
- Ethel M. Borden Harriman (1897–1953), who established herself as both an actress and writer in Broadway and Hollywood.
Beginning in January 1913, Harriman experienced a steady decline in health due to chronic digestive ailments. He passed away in Washington on December 1, 1914. His prolonged illness and related costs reportedly exhausted the majority of his financial assets. Following his death, his widow dedicated several decades to public service and political involvement, living to the age of 97 without entering into another marriage.