William P. G. Harding
William Proctor Gould Harding (May 5, 1864 – April 7, 1930) was an American banker. He was the 2nd Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and also served as the managing director of the War Finance Corporation. Early life. Harding was born on May 5, 1864, to Horace Harding and Eliza Proctor Gould Harding in Boligee, Alabama. The portrait painter Chester Harding was a grandfather. He received his early education in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and before entering the University of Alabama he received his preparatory support from many established and respected educators such as Dr. Warfield C. Richardson and  Prof. Joseph M. Dill. He entered the University of Alabama in 1878 and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1880 and continued his studies for an extra year to obtain a Master of Arts at the time becoming the youngest student to acquire his degree. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1881 and further continued his studies again in business college at Poughkeepsie, New York. Career. He returned to Tuscaloosa and began working at J. H. Fitts and Company for three years as a bookkeeper and clerk. He then moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to work again as a  bookkeeper for Berney National Bank where he was promoted to cashier three years later. In 1896, he was elected as vice-president of the First National Bank of Birmingham and then elected president on June 28, 1902. Under his administration he was recognized as the most notable banker in the south and was recognized nationally. In 1913 he was elected as president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Later life. Harding relinquished his title when asked by President Woodrow Wilson to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board on August 10, 1914, before the onset of World War I.  On August 10, 1916, he was appointed by Woodrow to become Governor of the Federal Reserve Board and was appointed director of the War Finance Corporation until 1922. In addition, the University of Alabama distinguished Harding with a degree of Legum Doctor in 1916. In 1922 he was requested by the President of Cuba Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso to reorganize the country's financial and accounting systems. He returned to America in 1923 and was appointed as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where he served until his death on April 7, 1930 from heart failure after a  long illness at his home in Boston, Massachusetts. Personal life. In October 1895 he was married to Amanda Moore, a granddaughter of Alabama congressman Sydenham Moore, and with her had three children before her death in 1910. He was a member of the Freemasonry fraternal organization and an Episcopalian.