Andrew William Mellon

Mellon, Andrew William (1855–1937), U.S. financier, industrialist, U.S. treasury secretary (1921–31), and U.S. ambassador to Britain (1931–32). After taking control of his father's banking firm and founding other banks, he increased his holdings in such companies as oil, coal, locomotives, hydroelectricity, bridge construction, insurance, and steel. He served under 3 presidents, and reduced the national debt by some $9 billion. A multimillionaire himself, he founded the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research. His vast art collection formed the basis (1937) of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.