Prescott Bush
Prescott Bush | |
|---|---|
| Born | Prescott Sheldon Bush Sr. 15 May 1895 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | 8 October 1972 (aged 77) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, politician |
| Years active | 1917–1963 |
| Known for | United States Senator from Connecticut (1952–1963) |
Prescott Sheldon Bush Sr. (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was a prominent American banker and a Republican political figure. Following a career as an investment banker on Wall Street, he served as a United States Senator representing Connecticut from 1952 until 1963. As a member of the influential Bush family, he was the father of President George H. W. Bush and grandfather to President George W. Bush and Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Originating from Columbus, Ohio, Bush completed his studies at Yale College and served as an artillery officer during the First World War. Afterward, he joined various businesses and became a junior partner at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., an investment banking firm, in 1931. He also held leadership positions within the United States Golf Association, including its presidency. In 1925, he established his residence in Connecticut.
Bush secured victory in a special Senate election in 1952 by narrowly defeating Democrat Abraham Ribicoff. During his Senate tenure, he was a steadfast supporter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and played a role in enacting legislation that established the Interstate Highway System. He won re-election in 1956 but opted not to seek another term in 1962, retiring from office in 1963.
Early life
Prescott Bush was born on May 15, 1895, in Columbus, Ohio, to Samuel Prescott Bush and Flora Sheldon Bush. His father held positions as a railroad middle manager, president of a steel company, and served as a federal official during World War I overseeing key arms manufacturers.
Bush attended St. George's School located in Middletown, before matriculating at Yale College in 1913, continuing a longstanding family tradition of Yale attendance. While at Yale, he became a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity and the secret society Skull and Bones, which later included both his son and grandson among its members. According to legend, he was involved in an event at Fort Sill in 1918 concerning the removal of Geronimo’s skull; however, historians question the accuracy of this story.
During his time at Yale, Bush participated as a cheerleader, played varsity golf and baseball, sang with the Whiffenpoofs, and served as president of the Yale Glee Club.
Upon graduation, he served as a captain in field artillery with the American Expeditionary Forces between 1917 and 1919 during World War I. His service included intelligence training in France and involvement in the Meuse–Argonne offensive.
Business career
Following military duty, Prescott Bush took up employment with Simmons Hardware Company based in St. Louis. In 1923, after relocating with his family to Columbus, Ohio, he briefly worked for the Hupp Products Company before assuming the role of sales president at Stedman Products in Massachusetts. It was during this time that his son George H. W. Bush was born.
In 1924, Bush advanced to vice-president at investment bank A. Harriman & Co., which was led by his father-in-law George Herbert Walker. There he collaborated with Yale classmates and fellow Bonesmen such as E. Roland Harriman and Knight Woolley.
The following year, he took on the position of foreign division manager at the United States Rubber Company, prompting his move to Greenwich, Connecticut. By 1931, he had become a partner at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., an entity created through the merger of A. Harriman & Co., Brown Bros. & Co., and Harriman Brothers & Co.
Bush’s passion for golf led to his appointment as president of the USGA in 1935.
Between 1944 and 1956, he was a member of Yale University's governing body (the Yale Corporation). Additionally, he served on the board of directors for CBS, having been introduced to chairman William S. Paley by his associate W. Averell Harriman, a prominent figure within the Democratic Party.
Business Plot and Union Banking Corporation
In July 2007, Harper's Magazine featured an article by attorney Scott Horton that implicated Prescott Bush in the 1934 Business Plot, an unsuccessful attempt by affluent Americans to enlist retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler in a plan to depose President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Prescott Bush was among the founders and served as one of seven directors of the Union Banking Corporation, holding a single share out of 4,000. This investment bank acted as a conduit for assets owned by German steel industrialist Fritz Thyssen, who was an early backer and financier of the Nazi Party. In July 1942, suspicions arose that the bank was safeguarding gold for Nazi officials. Although a government probe refuted these claims, it confirmed Thyssen’s control over the institution. As a result, the U.S. government seized the bank’s assets in October 1942 under the authority of the Trading with the Enemy Act, maintaining control throughout World War II.
Journalist Duncan Campbell brought attention to documents identifying Prescott Bush as both director and shareholder in companies linked to Thyssen. Notably, Bush remained involved with the Union Banking Corporation, which represented Thyssen’s American interests, even after the United States entered the war.
Political life
Prescott Bush engaged actively in social causes, joining the American Birth Control League in 1942 and acting as treasurer for Planned Parenthood’s inaugural nationwide fundraising campaign in 1947. Additionally, he led the Connecticut chapter of the United Negro College Fund in 1951.
Between 1947 and 1950, Bush served as Connecticut’s Republican finance chairman and sought election to the United States Senate in 1950, narrowly losing by 1,102 votes to Senator William Burnett Benton. His association with Planned Parenthood proved detrimental in predominantly Catholic Connecticut, despite family denials. He planned a rematch in 1952 but withdrew; following Senator Brien McMahon’s death that year, Republicans nominated Bush, who subsequently won against Democrat Abraham Ribicoff. A devoted supporter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bush held his Senate seat until 1963, securing re-election in 1956 with 55% of the vote over Democrat Thomas J. Dodd.
Bush played a key role in advancing Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System and championed significant defense initiatives such as the Polaris submarine program developed by Electric Boat Corporation. He endorsed the creation of the Peace Corps and voted affirmatively on the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 as well as on the passage of the 24th Amendment.
On December 2, 1954, Bush was among a large bipartisan majority that voted to censure Senator Joseph McCarthy, condemning McCarthy’s divisive methods. President Eisenhower later identified Bush as a preferred contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1960.
Politically aligned with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Bush supported a Nixon-Rockefeller ticket for that year’s presidential race and initially backed Rockefeller’s 1964 campaign until Rockefeller’s remarriage in 1963, which Bush openly criticized. Subsequently, he endorsed former colleague Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., sibling of his protégé former Connecticut Governor John Davis Lodge.
Bush concentrated efforts on legislation related to flood and hurricane protection, authoring the Bush Hurricane Survey Act (Public Law 71) which authorized U.S. Army engineers to design tidal flood defenses for communities. Together with Representative John W. McCormack, he co-sponsored the Bush-McCormack Act (Public Law 685), expediting construction projects aimed at local flood protection.
Personal life
On August 6, 1921, Prescott Bush wed Dorothy Wear Walker (1901–1992) in Kennebunkport, Maine. Dorothy played a key role in establishing the Junior League of Columbus, Ohio, in 1923. Together, they raised five children: (1922–2010), George (1924–2018), Nancy (1926–2021), Jonathan (1931–2021), and William "Bucky" (1938–2018).
In 1937, Bush initiated the formation of the Yale Glee Club Associates and was deeply involved with the United States Golf Association, holding positions such as secretary, vice-president, and president between 1928 and 1935. He earned multiple club championships at the Round Hill Club located in Greenwich, Connecticut. Additionally, he contributed to a committee organized by New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. aimed at launching the New York Mets baseball team.
Bush also belonged to the American Legion and the 40 & 8 Society. His residences included locations in New York City, Long Island, Greenwich, the Walker's Point Estate, and Fishers Island. He passed away from cancer in 1972 at the age of 77 at Memorial Hospital in , and his final resting place is at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich.
Writings
Among his published works are:
- "Timely Monetary Policy", featured in Banking, June & July 1955
- "To Preserve Peace Let's Show the Russians How Strong We Are!", published in Reader's Digest, July 1959
- "Politics Is Your Business", appearing in the Chamber of Commerce, State of New York, Bulletin, May 1960
See also
Further reading
- The Prescott Bush Papers housed at University of Connecticut, Storrs
- Oral History Project interviews at Greenwich Library with Prescott Bush Jr. and Mary Walker
- Documents found within History of the Class of 1917 Yale College (1919) along with supplementary class albums
- John Atlee Kouwenhoven’s Partners in Banking: An Historical Portrait of a Great Private Bank, published by Brown Brothers Harriman (1968)
- Obituaries appearing in Washington Post, New York Times, Hartford Courant on October 9, 1972; as well as Yale Alumni Magazine, December 1972 edition
- Entry on Prescott Sheldon Bush in Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971–1975
- Darwin Payne’s Initiative in Energy: Dresser Industries, Inc., 1880–1978, Simon and Schuster (1979)