Introduction
William Proctor Gould Harding (May 5, 1864 – April 7, 1930) was an American banker. He also served as the managing director of the War Finance Corporation.
Biography
He was born in Boligee, Alabama, on May 5, 1864. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1881. He was the president of First National Bank of Birmingham and president of the Alabama State Banker's Association. He was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board in 1914, and was the second Chairman of the Federal Reserve, serving from 1916 to 1922. After working in Cuba to reorganize the financial system, he was appointed president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 1923 and served until his death in 1930.
He died of heart trouble on April 7, 1930, after a long illness at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.