Andrew Mellon: Pittsburgh Banker and Treasury Secretary

Andrew Mellon: Pittsburgh Banker and Treasury Secretary

Business Owner · Financial Services

Pittsburgh

Andrew Mellon built Mellon National Bank and Union Trust into Pittsburgh's leading financial institutions before serving as US Treasury Secretary from 1921 to 1932.

About Andrew Mellon: Pittsburgh Banker and Treasury Secretary

Andrew William Mellon (March 24, 1855 to August 26, 1937), known as A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector and politician. The son of Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon, he established a vast business empire before moving into politics. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from March 9, 1921 to February 12, 1932, presiding over the boom years of the 1920s and the Wall Street crash of 1929. A conservative Republican, Mellon favored policies that reduced taxation and the national debt in the aftermath of World War I. He also helped fund and manage Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Andrew began working at his father's Pittsburgh bank, T. Mellon & Sons, in the early 1870s, eventually becoming the leading figure in the institution. He later renamed it Mellon National Bank and established another institution, the Union Trust Company of Pittsburgh, in 1889. By the end of 1913 Mellon National Bank held more deposits than any other bank in Pittsburgh, and the second-largest bank in the region was controlled by Union Trust. Sources: English Wikipedia (Andrew Mellon, accessed September 2026).

Basic Information

Banker and industrialist; US Secretary of the Treasury 1921-1932 (1855-1937)

Company Details

Mellon National Bank / Union Trust Company

Banking, Industrial Investment