Anthony N. Brady

Anthony N. Brady
Born Anthony Nicholas Brady
(1841-08-22)August 22, 1841
Lille, Nord, France
Died July 22, 1913(1913-07-22) (aged 71)
London, England,
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Resting place St. Agnes Cemetery,
Menands, New York,
United States
Residence Albany, New York, United States
Occupation Businessman
Net worth USD $50 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/781st of US GNP)[1]
Spouse(s) Marcia Ann Myers
Children Nicholas Frederic (1878-1930)
James Cox (1882-1927)
Marcia Myers (1884-1976)
Flora (d. 1912)
Margaret Ruth (d. 1944)
Mabel (d. 1979)

Anthony Nicholas Brady (August 22, 1841–July 22, 1913) was an American businessman.

Early life

Anthony Nicholas Brady was born on August 22, 1841 in Lille, France to an Irish family,[2][3] whose family emigrated to Troy, New York, in 1857.

Career

Settling in Albany, New York, he was first employed by a local barber and at age 19 went into business for himself, opening a tea store that he soon expanded with other outlets. He went on to become a politically astute transportation magnate, who used his genius at consolidation to acquire control of Brooklyn Rapid Transit as well Albany Gas Light Company. Later he was a dominant figure in the transportation systems of several American cities including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., plus that of Paris.[4] Brady would acquire significant investments in a substantial number of companies and was the largest shareholder and a director of American Tobacco Company by 1900, and successor companies (Consolidated Tobacco Company) in subsequent years.

Brady partnered with leading East Coast business tycoons such as Thomas Edison, William C. Whitney, P. A. B. Widener and Thomas F. Ryan in various business ventures including the Electric Vehicle Co., initially a motorized taxicab business that evolved into Maxwell Automobile Co.. By 1907, he was a member of the Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York, one of around 13,000.[5]

Personal life

Brady married Marcia Ann Myers from Vermont with whom he had six children. She was an Episcopalian and the children were raised in that faith.

Death and legacy

Anthony N. Brady died in 1913 at the Carlton Hotel, London, while on a business trip. His remains were brought back to the United States where he was interred in the Roman Catholic Church Saint Agnes Cemetery in Menands, New York. He is considered to have been one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune,.[6] His sons, James Cox Brady (1882–1927) and Nicholas Frederic Brady (1878–1930), continued to successfully operate the vast business empire but in 1923 a family feud erupted when their three sisters took them to court, charging irregularities in the management of their father's estate. After years of litigation, the suit was finally dismissed in 1924.

Anthony N. Brady was the great grandfather of Nicholas F. Brady, a former U.S. Senator from New Jersey, and United States Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

The Anthony N. Brady Memorial Laboratory, School of Medicine, Yale University is named for him.

See also

References

  1. Klepper, Michael; Gunther, Michael (1996), The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates—A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present, Secaucus, New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group, p. xiii, ISBN 978-0-8065-1800-8, OCLC 33818143
  2. "A Match Made In Heaven…The History of St. Ignatius Loyola Day Nursery and the Life of Nicholas Frederic Brady (1838-1930)" (PDF). St. Ignatius Loyola Church. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  3. Anthony Nicholas Brady. "Brady Genealogy". Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  4. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9806E5DE133CE633A25757C0A9669D946396D6CF
  5. Armstrong Nelson, Samuel (1907), The Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York: Its History, Organization, Machinery and Methods, p. 19-23, retrieved February 6, 2017
  6. The Wealthy 100
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