E. Roland Harriman

E. Roland Harriman
Name	E. Roland Harriman
Birth date	July 28, 1895
Birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Death date	January 26, 1978
Death place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Banker, businessman, philanthropist
Spouse	Gladys Fries Harriman
Parents	Orlando Harriman, Mary Williamson Averell
Relatives	W. Averell Harriman (brother)

E. Roland Harriman was an American banker and businessman who played prominent roles in Wall Street finance, railroad consolidation, and mid-20th century philanthropy. A scion of the Harriman family, he was active in corporate leadership at Brown Brothers Harriman, the Union Pacific Railroad, and numerous boards, while also serving in wartime and postwar public institutions. His career intersected with figures from Franklin D. Roosevelt to industrialists and financiers across New York City and Washington, D.C..

Early life and family

Born in New York City to Mary Williamson Averell and Orlando Harriman, he was raised amid the social and financial networks of the Gilded Age elite. His family included his brother W. Averell Harriman, later Governor of New York and United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union, connecting him to diplomatic and political circles such as Harry S. Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Harriman household maintained ties with prominent families including the Rockefeller family, the Morgan family, and the Vanderbilt family, and socialized with leaders from Wall Street and British aristocracy.

Education and early career

He attended Groton School and matriculated at Princeton University, where he graduated before entering finance. At Princeton he encountered classmates and faculty connected to institutions like the Woodrow Wilson School and figures such as Nicholas Murray Butler and peers who later joined firms in New York City and London. After graduation he began work at Brown Brothers Harriman, the private banking partnership formed from the alliances of Brown Brothers & Co. and Harriman interests, interacting with financiers like Prescott Bush and members of the J.P. Morgan circle.

Banking and business career

As a partner at Brown Brothers Harriman, he participated in international finance dealing with European recovery, United Kingdom credit, and transatlantic trade involving institutions such as the Federal Reserve System and the Bank of England. He served on boards including the Union Pacific Railroad, where he worked alongside executives connected to the American Railroad consolidation era and industrialists from the Great Depression and New Deal periods. His corporate affiliations extended to firms and trusts with ties to the International Chamber of Commerce, the Council on Foreign Relations, and other policy-shaping organizations in New York City and Washington, D.C..

Philanthropy and public service

A supporter of cultural and civic institutions, he contributed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Red Cross, and Columbia University initiatives, coordinating philanthropic responses with peers from the Gates Foundation-era philanthropists and family foundations like the Rockefeller Foundation. He engaged with foundations addressing postwar reconstruction and international relief through connections to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the Marshall Plan apparatus, working with policy figures such as George C. Marshall and administrators from John Foster Dulles-era foreign policy circles.

World War II activities

During World War II he moved between private-sector logistics and government-directed mobilization efforts, collaborating with agencies that coordinated industrial production, transportation, and refugees. He worked with officials from the War Production Board, the Office of War Information, and the Office of Strategic Services on matters intersecting finance and logistics, maintaining contacts with military and civilian leaders like Henry L. Stimson and A. Philip Randolph who influenced wartime labor and civil-military relations. Postwar, he participated in initiatives connected to reconstruction in Europe and refugee relief coordinated with the International Refugee Organization.

Personal life and interests

He married Gladys Fries, and their social life connected them to cultural circles including patrons of the Metropolitan Opera, collectors associated with the Frick Collection, and sportsmen active in yachting and polo traditions popular among Northeastern elites. He maintained residences in New York City and country estates frequented by figures from the Social Register and philanthropic networks spanning Boston and Washington, D.C..

Legacy and honors

His legacy is reflected in the enduring presence of Brown Brothers Harriman in private banking, the mid-century shaping of Union Pacific Railroad leadership, and philanthropic contributions to institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University. He received recognitions from civic organizations and trusteeships linking him to honors given by the American Red Cross, cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Opera, and academic bodies including Princeton University alumni awards. His life intersected with major 20th-century events and figures—from Franklin D. Roosevelt administration policy networks to postwar reconstruction—leaving a footprint across financial, transportation, and philanthropic sectors.

Category:1895 births Category:1978 deaths Category:American bankers Category:People from New York City