Galen L. Stone

Galen Luther Stone (November 21, 1862 – December 26, 1926) was an American financier and philanthropist.

Biography

Stone was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. In his teens, he worked as an office clerk in Boston and went on to become a major figure on Wall Street. Together with Charles Hayden, he founded the stock brokerage firms of Hayden, Stone & Co. and Haystone Securities Corporation of Boston and New York City. In 1919, his firm hired fellow Bostonian Joseph P. Kennedy.

In 1889, he married Carrie Morton Gregg (1866-1945) of Boston and the couple eventually made their home in Brookline, Massachusetts. An avid yachtsman, in his latter years, Stone owned the 188' vessel the Arcadia.

Stone held financial interests in numerous companies and was president of the Atlantic Gulf and West Indies Steamship Co, and in 1900, he and his associates formed the Eastern Steamship Lines Inc. He was chairman of the Pond Creek Coal Company and the Pike County, Kentucky, mining town of Stone was named in his honor.

Stone used his fortune for a number of charitable causes, many of which centered on education. In 1915, through the fundraising efforts of the educator, Charlotte Hawkins Brown, he became aware of Palmer Memorial Institute,^[1] an African-American preparatory school in Sedalia, North Carolina. Stone became the Institute's largest benefactor. As well, his philanthropic work was recognized with the Galen Stone Professor of International Trade at the Harvard University Institute for International Development. A trustee of Wellesley College from 1915 to 1925, he donated the funds to build the Galen Stone Tower at Green Hall. The 182-foot (55 m) high tower is a focal point on the campus and houses the 32-bell carillon which is actively played by a student guild of carillonneurs for major College events as well as between and after classes.

Stone was honored for his philanthropy by initiation as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity in 1917 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The fraternity's mission reflects Stone's values by developing young men to share their talents to create harmony in the world.

A World War II Liberty ship, the SS Galen L. Stone, was named in his honor.

Galen Stone died at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1926. His grandson, also Galen Luther Stone, served as United States Ambassador to Cyprus.^[2]

References