Thomas Bayard McCabe (July 11, 1893 – May 27, 1982) was an American businessman who served as the 8th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1948 to 1951. McCabe also served as president and CEO of Scott Paper Company for 39 years.
Background
The youngest of five children, Thomas Bayard McCabe was born on July 11, 1893, to William Robbins McCabe and Beulah Whaley in Whaleyville, Maryland. According to family records, his paternal ancestors were early pioneers of Selbyville, Delaware, dating as far back as the late 1700s. By 1837, Thomas's great-great-great grandfather, Arthur McCabe, owned what was then all of Selbyville. His grandfather, William S. McCabe was involved in the local mercantile business for over 50 years.
When McCabe's father came of age, the firm William S. McCabe & Son was formed and became one of the leading business firms in Sussex County, Delaware. His father later founded and served as the first president of the Selbyville Bank as well as a banking and insurance commissioner for the State of Delaware in the early 20th century. He was an early advocate of the Federal Reserve System.
Education
McCabe attended preparatory school at Wilmington Conference Academy (now called Wesley College) in Dover, Delaware, from 1907 to 1910. Following graduation from WCA, he entered Swarthmore College, where he studied economics, graduating in 1915 with an associate bachelor's degree. In addition, he held honorary doctoral degrees from 15 colleges and universities
Scott Paper Company
In 1916 McCabe joined Scott Paper as a $15-a-week salesman when he was 23 years old. Scott Paper was then a small one-mill paper company. In 1917, McCabe left Scott temporarily to serve in World War I. He enlisted as a private and advanced to captain by 1919. McCabe returned to civilian life and to the Scott Paper Company at the age of 26. He advanced rapidly, moving up from assistant sales manager to become the president and CEO by age 34. at a time when benefits such as those were relatively new for American workers. McCabe transformed Scott Paper from a 500-person paper mill company in Chester, Pennsylvania, into a multinational concern with over 60 manufacturing plants throughout the world employing over 40,000 people.
Federal Reserve and government service
In 1937, McCabe joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia as a class C director, followed by his appointment as chairman of that Reserve Bank’s board of directors in 1939. was reached on March 3, 1951. His leadership was instrumental in establishing a firm opposition to the restrictive rate pegging policies that were being imposed on the Fed by the Treasury. The accord laid the foundations for the monetary policy the Fed pursues today. After resigning from the Board, McCabe returned to the private sector. still in existence today.
Eisenhower Fellowships
In 1953, to celebrate President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 63rd birthday, his first since being elected to the presidency, a group of businessmen led by McCabe, founded an international leader exchange program to honor his devotion to world peace. They created a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization, governed by a board of trustees whose members included presidents of IBM, B.F. Goodrich, Chairman of G.E., a governor, U.S. Cabinet Secretary, U.S. delegate to the U.N. and 7 university or college presidents. Years later, Eisenhower described the program as "possibly the most splendid birthday present I have ever received."
Scholarships, fellowships, and endowments
The McCabe Scholarships at Swarthmore College were established in 1952 by McCabe. The National McCabe Scholarship places emphasis on ability, character, personality, leadership, and service to school and community. The Regional McCabe Scholarship is merit-based scholarship. Every year, two Regional McCabe Scholars are selected each from the Delmarva Peninsula Chester County, Montgomery County, or Delaware County in Pennsylvania.
The Thomas B. McCabe Jr. and Yvonne Motley McCabe Memorial Fellowship is awarded annually to graduates of Swarthmore College, and provides a grant toward an initial year of study at Harvard Business School, University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, or Stanford University. Special consideration is given to Fellowship applicants who demonstrate superior qualities of leadership.
The McCabe Library houses media items supporting the Humanities and Social Sciences, and facilitates access to a collection of over 500,000 ebooks, thousands of online journals, and a growing numbers of digital films. The Friends Historical Library and the Peace Collection, an acclaimed collection of rare materials and artist's books, can also be found there.
The McCabe Awards at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania were established in 1969 through a gift from Thomas B. McCabe and Jeannette E. Laws McCabe, to support junior faculty who initiate fresh and innovative biomedical and surgical research projects.
Personal life
McCabe and Jeannette Everett Laws were married on March 1, 1924. Family records show that they had three sons: Thomas B. McCabe Jr (1926-1977), Richard Whaley McCabe (1932-2006), and James Laws McCabe (1943-).