Harvey Dow Gibson
Harvey Dow Gibson was an American businessman.Biography
Harvey Dow Gibson was born on March 12, 1882 at North Conway, New Hampshire, the son of James Lewis Gibson and Addie Dow. His father was telegraph operator for the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad. He attended Fryeburg Academy, graduating in 1898.
From Fryeburg, he went on to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, graduating in 1902.
Gibson began his career with the American Express Company, then later with Liberty National Bank, where he became president in 1916. As a result of the merger between Liberty National Bank and New York Trust Company, he became president of the latter. In December, 1930, as part of a plan by the New York Clearing House and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to stem bank runs, Gibson headed a group of investors which purchased the controlling interest in the Manufacturers Trust Company from Goldman Sachs, and he became president of the bank on January 5, 1931. In 1931, Gibson received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York."
Gibson was active with the American Red Cross, serving as its Commissioner in France during World War I, and as Commissioner to Great Britain during World War II.
He founded the Cranmore Mountain Resort in 1937, importing Austrian ski instructor Hannes Schneider to teach guests how to ski. He bought the Eastern Slope Inn in the same year, and served on the executive board of the New York World's Fair in 1939 and 1940.
He died in 1950.
