Charles R. Gay

Charles Richard Gay (September 14, 1875 – March 23, 1946) was an American banker who served as president of the New York Stock Exchange.

Charles R. Gay
Gay at Senate hearing in Washington, 1937
President of the New York Stock Exchange
In office
May 1935 – May 1938
Preceded byRichard Whitney
Succeeded byWilliam McChesney Martin
Personal details
Born
Charles Richard Gay

(1875-09-14)September 14, 1875
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 24, 1946(1946-03-24) (aged 70)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Jennie Campbell Bowdish
​
​
(m. 1898; his death 1946)​
ChildrenWilliam Campbell Gay
EducationBrooklyn Polytechnic Institute

Early life

Gay was born in Brooklyn on September 14, 1875.[1] He was a son of Charles Abram Gay and Anna Mitchell (née Campbell) Gay.[2] His younger brother was Robert Malcolm Gay, a prominent English professor.[3]

He was educated at Brooklyn Public School 35 before attending Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute[2] (today part of the New York University Tandon School of Engineering).

Career
Gay at Senate hearing in Washington listening to testimony during hearing of the Senate Railroad Financing Committee, 1937.

After "engaging in the fire insurance, banking and wholesale coal businesses," he purchased his seat and became a member of the New York Stock Exchange in 1911, four years later forming the firm of Gay & Goepel.[4] In 1919, he merged his firm (then known as Charles R. Gay & Co.) with Whitehouse & Co., was reportedly the oldest firm on the Exchange.[5]

In 1935, when he was senior partner at Whitehouse & Co. (with offices on the 20th floor of 1 Wall Street), he was elected president of the Exchange, succeeding Richard Whitney.[6] Gay served three terms as president, retiring in May 1938.[7] He was president during a trying time for the Exchange and financial markets and often traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to participate with Senate inquiries.[8][9][10]

After his tenure as president of the Exchange, he became the head of Winthrop, Whitehouse & Co., a longtime securities firm established in 1828.[11] At the time of his death, he was serving on the board of directors of the Dime Savings Bank.[2]

Personal life

In 1898, he married Jennie Campbell Bowdish, a daughter of the Rev. Wellesley Wellington Bowdish and Jennie Elizabeth (née Campbell) Bowdish. They lived at 440 East 19th Street in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.[11][12] Together, Jennie and Charles were the parents of one son:[11]

  • William Campbell Gay, who was also a member of the New York Stock Exchange and who lived in Halesite on Long Island.[2] He married Evelyn W. Sherman.[13][14]

He was a trustee of the Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and St. Mark's Methodist Episcopal Church of Brooklyn and a member of the board of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Flatbush Boys Club and the YMCA[2]

He died at the Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn on March 23, 1946.[2] A memorial was held for Gay at Trinity Church in Manhattan.[15]

References
  1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time. J. T. White. 1967. p. 273. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  2. "C.R. GAY, 70, DEAD; HEADED EXCHANGE; President From 1935 to 1938 Was Broker Since 1911-- Hospital, Church Trustee" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 March 1946. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  3. Who's Who in New England: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men and Women of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. A.N. Marquis Company. 1938. p. 519. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  4. "GAY IS NOMINATED TO HEAD EXCHANGE; Picked to Succeed Whitney, Who Is Named Again for Governing Body" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 April 1935. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. "EXCHANGE HOUSES MERGE.; Whitehouse & Co. and Charles R. Gay & Co. Consolidate" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 February 1919. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  6. "EXCHANGE ELECTS GAY IN HEAVY VOTE; Blow for 'New Deal' Seen in Defeat of Three on Slate for Governing Board" (PDF). The New York Times. 14 May 1935. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  7. "C. R. GAY HONORED BY FINANCIAL PRESS; Writers of Wall Street News Praise Stock Exchange's Former Head at Dinner SAY HE ENDED SECRECY Scroll Credits 'Progressive Era' to Him--K. C. Hogate Principal Speaker Douglas Sends a Message Mr. Hogate's Address C. R. GAY HONORED BY FINANCIAL PRESS Obligation to Public Cited" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 May 1938. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  8. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (20 September 1935). "C. R. GAY IS IN WASHINGTON; Discusses When-and-If Trading Rules With SEC" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  9. "SEC CURBS IMPAIR STOCKS' LIQUIDITY, C. R. GAY REPORTS; Exchange's Head Fears Market May Cease to Function in Time of Stress INCREASE IN RISKS SEEN Restrictions in Credit Are Driving Trading Activity Abroad, He Charges Risks Seen Increased GAY HITS AT CURBS PUT ON TRADING Important Changes Cited On the Credit Restrictions" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 August 1937. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  10. "EXCHANGE ADOPTS TERM SETTLEMENTS; Governors Amend Rules So as to Have Semi-Weekly Payments Begin on Sept. 1 BOND -DEALS NOT INCLUDED First Step in a Wide Economy and Efficiency Program for Brokers Is Voted Bond Deals Unchanged The Rule for Holidays TRADERS HONOR C. R. GAY Luncheon Given by Officers and Directors of Association EXCHANGE ADOPTS TERM SETTLEMENTS NEW RULES FOR CHICAGO" (PDF). The New York Times. 14 July 1938. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  11. Leonard, John W. (1926). Who's Who in Finance, Banking and Insurance: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. Who's Who in Finance, Incorporated. p. 402. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  12. Brooklyn Blue Book and Long Island Society Register. Brooklyn Life Publishing Company. 1905. p. 76. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  13. "William C. Gays Have a Son" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 December 1935. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  14. "Miss Reynolds, Colby Alumna, Wed to Broker; Father Escorts Her at Marriage to William Campbell Gay Jr" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 August 1963. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  15. "Memorial for Charles R. Gay" (PDF). The New York Times. April 11, 1946. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
Business positions
Preceded by
Richard Whitney		 President of the
New York Stock Exchange
1935 – 1938		 Succeeded by
William McChesney Martin
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