Thomas W. Lamont

Thomas W. Lamont Jr.
Born	Template:Birth date Claverack, New York, U.S.
Died	February 2, 1948(1948-02-02) (aged 77)
Occupation	Banker
Years active	1892–1948
Known for	Partner at J.P. Morgan & Co., chairman of the board of J.P. Morgan & Co.

Thomas William Lamont Jr. (September 30, 1870 – February 2, 1948) was a prominent American banker.

Early life

Born in Claverack, New York, Lamont was the son of Thomas Lamont, a Methodist clergyman, and Caroline Deuel Jayne. The family’s frequent relocations across Upstate New York were a result of his father’s pastoral duties, and they lived with limited financial resources. He completed his education at Phillips Exeter Academy in 1888, where he held editorial roles for the school newspaper, The Exonian, as well as the yearbook and literary publication. Subsequently, he enrolled at Harvard College.

Early career

While at Harvard, Lamont became the inaugural freshman editor of The Harvard Crimson, which helped him partially fund his education. Graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1892, he met his future wife, Florence Haskell Corliss, during the 1890 commencement. Two days post-graduation, he started working as an assistant to the city editor at the New York Tribune. He wed Florence on October 31, 1895, in Englewood, New Jersey.

His journalism career also included positions at the Albany Evening Journal, Boston Advertiser, and Boston Herald. At the Tribune, he rose to night editor and supported the financial editor, gaining early insight into financial matters. Due to insufficient compensation, he transitioned from journalism to the business sector.

Lamont became part of Cushman Bros., which evolved into Lamont, Corliss, and Company. He revitalized this enterprise into a successful importing and marketing company focused on advertising for food businesses. Collaborating with his brother-in-law Corliss, he rescued the faltering firm. His expertise in banking caught the attention of Henry P. Davison, who invited him to join Bankers Trust. Lamont advanced from secretary and treasurer roles to Vice President and director positions. Additionally, he served as vice president of First National Bank.

He was affiliated with the exclusive Jekyll Island Club on Jekyll Island, Georgia.

In 1918, Lamont acquired the New York Evening Post, which had been managed by his brother Hammond. After struggling to achieve profitability, he sold the newspaper in January 1922 to a group led by editor Edwin F. Gay.

J. P. Morgan

Lamont became a partner at J.P. Morgan & Co. on January 1, 1911, succeeding Davison.

World War I

During the First World War, J.P. Morgan & Co. played a key role in arranging purchases for the Allied forces. In 1917, Lamont joined the Liberty Loan Committee to promote war bond sales and unofficially advised an Allied delegation led by Edward M. House, acting under President Woodrow Wilson’s direction.

He traveled to Europe providing counsel to Allied governments during the conflict. Shortly before his trip, the Bolsheviks seized control in Russia. Together with American Red Cross leader William B. Thompson and with consent from British Prime Minister Lloyd George, Lamont endeavored to convince the U.S. government to support the Bolshevik regime in order to keep Russia engaged in the war; however, this effort did not succeed.

Peace negotiations

At the Paris Peace Conference, Lamont and Norman H. Davis represented the Treasury Department in negotiating Germany's reparations obligations. He played a significant role in formulating both the 1924 Dawes Plan and the 1929 Young Plan, initiatives designed to ease Germany's financial reparations burden.

Influence

Throughout the interwar years, Lamont served as the public voice for J.P. Morgan during the retirement of J.P. Morgan Jr., overseeing media communications and defending the institution amid inquiries such as those conducted by Arsene Pujo. Acting as a principal representative for Morgan's overseas investments and a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, he provided counsel to the administrations of Wilson, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin Roosevelt. During the 1931 financial crisis, Hoover sought Lamont’s advice regarding a suspension on debt repayments, which impacted both policy decisions and electoral outcomes. In 1932, Lamont was inducted into both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Japan

In 1920, Lamont embarked on a semi-official assignment to Japan aimed at protecting American financial stakes in Asia. He showed limited opposition to Japan’s territorial expansion in Manchuria and endorsed Japan’s largely non-militaristic posture throughout much of the 1930s. Ron Chernow’s acclaimed The House of Morgan credits Lamont with drafting Japan’s deceptive reply to the Mukden incident, which conflicted with assessments by the US government and League of Nations that identified Japan as the aggressor.

Mexico

Serving as chairman of the International Committee of Bankers on Mexico, Lamont played a pivotal role in negotiating the De la Huerta-Lamont Treaty and continued to steer debt renegotiations into the 1940s, thereby contributing to the stabilization of Mexico’s external debt commitments.

Italy

In 1926, Lamont, who characterized himself as "something like a missionary" for Italian fascism, arranged a $100 million loan for Benito Mussolini. Despite this initial backing, he later criticized the Second Italo-Abyssinian War that commenced in 1935.

On September 20, 1940, Giovanni Fummi, J.P. Morgan & Co.’s principal representative in Italy, was detained by fascist authorities. Lamont intervened to facilitate Fummi’s release, which occurred on October 1; subsequently, Fummi relocated to Switzerland.

Wall Street crash

At the time of the 1929 Black Thursday crash, Lamont was serving as acting head of J.P. Morgan & Co. Just five days before, President Herbert Hoover had voiced concerns regarding widespread market manipulation and systemic vulnerabilities on Wall Street. Lamont reassured him that no cause for alarm or governmental intervention existed, remarking that "The future appears brilliant!"

Following the crash, Lamont coordinated efforts among Wall Street firms to restore investor confidence by purchasing substantial quantities of blue chip shares; however, this initiative was unsuccessful as stock values declined by 25% during that week. A subsequent Senate Banking Committee inquiry uncovered that J.P. Morgan maintained a "preferential stock list," enabling select individuals—including politicians such as Calvin Coolidge and relatives of bankers—to sell shares at prices exceeding market levels.

As chairman

Following J.P. Morgan & Co.’s reorganization in 1943 and after Morgan Jr.’s passing, Lamont was appointed chairman of the board, becoming the first leader outside the Morgan family since George Peabody to head the bank.

Charitable contributions

With considerable fortune at his disposal, Lamont emerged as a prominent patron for institutions like Harvard and Exeter, supporting initiatives including the establishment of the Lamont Library. Following the conclusion of World War II, he made generous donations toward the refurbishment of Canterbury Cathedral in England. His wife, Florence Haskell Corliss, gifted their Hudson River property located in Palisades, New York, to Columbia University, which currently houses the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. After her passing, a legacy gift was created to fund the Lamont Poetry Prize.

Death

Lamont passed away in 1948 in Boca Grande, Florida.

Personal background

In 1895, Lamont wed Florence Haskell Corliss, who was born in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1873. She completed her studies at Smith College in 1893 and obtained a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Columbia University. Together, they had four children. Their son Corliss pursued a career as a philosophy professor at Columbia University and was an outspoken socialist. Another son, Thomas Stilwell Lamont, served as vice-chairman of Morgan Guaranty Trust and was a member of the Harvard Corporation.

One of their grandsons, Lansing Lamont, worked as a correspondent for Time between 1961 and 1974 and authored several works including You Must Remember This: A Reporter’s Odyssey from Camelot to Glasnost. Another grandson, Thomas William Lamont II, served aboard a submarine that tragically sank in 1945.

A great-grandson, Ned Lamont, was elected governor of Connecticut in 2018.

In media

Lamont features prominently as a character in Nomi Prins' novel Black Tuesday (2011) as well as Kit Holland's Soul Slip Peak (2013).

Publications

• Henry P. Davison; the record of a useful life, Harper & Brothers, New York and London, 1933.
• My boyhood in a parsonage, some brief sketches of American life toward the close of the last century, Harper & Brothers, New York and London, 1946.
• Across world frontiers, Harcourt Brace & Co., New York, 1951.

Additional resources

• Jones, Kenneth Paul (ed.), U.S. Diplomats in Europe, 1919–41 (ABC-CLIO. 1981) discussing Lamont’s diplomatic contributions on pages 5–24.
• Lamont, Edward M., The Ambassador from Wall Street. The Story of Thomas W. Lamont, J.P. Morgan's Chief Executive. A Biography. Madison Books, 1994.
• Lundberg, Ferdinand. America's Sixty Families. New York: Vanguard Press, 1937.

Archives and collections

• Thomas W. Lamont papers housed at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.
• Lamont-Corliss Family Papers, held at Smith College.