Richard Aldrich McCurdy

Richard Aldrich McCurdy
Born	Template:Birth date New York City, U.S.
Died	March 6, 1916(1916-03-06) (aged 81) Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, corporate leader, financier
Known for	President of Mutual Life Insurance Company (1885–1906)

Richard Aldrich McCurdy (January 29, 1835, New York City – March 6, 1916, Morristown, New Jersey) was a distinguished American lawyer, corporate leader, and financier active during the Gilded Age. He held the position of President at the Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1885 until his departure in 1906 amidst a corporate controversy.

Early life

McCurdy was born in New York City on January 29, 1835, to Robert Henry McCurdy, a notable businessman, and Gertrude Mercer Lee, who was related to U.S. Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen.

His paternal lineage was Scotch-Irish, with ancestors originating from the Isle of Bute in Scotland who immigrated to America prior to independence. Among his relatives, his uncle Charles J. McCurdy served as United States Chargé d'Affaires to the Austrian Empire between 1850 and 1852.

In 1856, McCurdy completed his legal education at Harvard Law School.

Career

Beginning his legal practice alongside William Betts Jr. and Lucius Robinson, who later became New York’s 26th Governor (1877–1879), McCurdy transitioned into corporate law. He acted as legal advisor for the Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1860 until 1865, after which he was promoted to vice president. In 1885, he ascended to the presidency, maintaining this role until 1906. During his tenure, the Mutual Life Insurance Company Building was erected in Manhattan; at the time, it was recognized as the largest office building worldwide. The company’s assets expanded significantly under his guidance, increasing from $103.6 million in 1883 to $476.9 million by 1903. Nonetheless, McCurdy and other senior officials were implicated in allegations concerning improper use of company assets. By 1905, questions arose about the remuneration granted to his son within the firm, culminating in McCurdy’s retirement amid the ensuing scandal in 1906.

Following the establishment of the Mutual Alliance Trust Company in New York after June 29, 1902, McCurdy joined its board as one of thirteen directors alongside prominent figures such as Emanuel Lehman, William Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt.

In addition to his insurance career, McCurdy held leadership roles including President of the Bell Telephone Company, vice president and director at the Western National Bank of the United States based in New York, and membership on the board of directors for the United States Mortgage & Trust Company.

Personal life

On October 22, 1856, McCurdy married Sarah Ellen Little, daughter of Charles Coffin Little. The couple had two children: Robert H. McCurdy, who wed Mary Suckley, and Gertrude Lee McCurdy, who became wife to Louis A. Thebaud. Their residences included a home on lower Fifth Avenue in Manhattan before moving to grand estates in Morris Plains, New Jersey and subsequently in Morristown, New Jersey.

His sister Gertrude was married to Gardiner Greene Hubbard, the inaugural president of the Bell Telephone Company and founder of the National Geographic Society. McCurdy was uncle to their daughter Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, who married inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

McCurdy counted among his affiliations several esteemed organizations such as the Metropolitan Club, the Union League Club of New York, the Manhattan Club, the Lawyer's Club, the New England Society of New York, and was connected with the American Museum of Natural History.

Death

McCurdy passed away on March 6, 1916, in Morristown, New Jersey at the age of eighty-one. His 1890 portrait, painted by John Singer Sargent, is housed at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Florida. Additionally, a photograph captured by Ira W. Martin in the same year is included in the Frick Collection located in New York City.