25 Facts About Hugh McCulloch

Hugh McCulloch was an American financier who played a central role in financing the American Civil War.

Hugh McCulloch served two non-consecutive terms as US Treasury Secretary under three presidents.

Hugh McCulloch tried but failed to make a rapid return to the gold standard.

Hugh McCulloch was the last surviving member of the Lincoln Cabinet.

Hugh McCulloch was educated at Thornton Academy in Saco, Maine, and attended Bowdoin College for two years, leaving due to ill health.

Hugh McCulloch taught school, then studied law in Boston, and in 1833 began practicing law at Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Hugh McCulloch was cashier and manager of the Fort Wayne branch of the state chartered Bank of Indiana and president of the larger organization from 1835 to 1857, and president of its successor, the privately owned Bank of Indiana, from 1857 to 1863.

Hugh McCulloch began his banking career as the President of the Bank of Indiana.

Hugh McCulloch was one of the few prominent businessmen in the young state, and although he had no banking experience, he was appointed because he was the most qualified person willing to take the position.

Hugh McCulloch ran the bank with great efficiency making it one of the most stable in the nation.

Hugh McCulloch remained president until the bank was closed in 1859 and the bank's notes were exchanged for federal notes from the new national bank.

Hugh McCulloch then went on to become president of the Second Bank of Indiana, where he remained until 1865.

On March 9,1865, Hugh McCulloch was appointed as the 27th Secretary of the Treasury by President Abraham Lincoln.

Hugh McCulloch's appointment was largely due to his influence with existing state banks.

Hugh McCulloch was disappointed by the decision of the United States Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the legal tenders.

From October 1884 until the close of President Chester A Arthur's term of office in March 1885, McCulloch again served as Secretary of the Treasury.

Hugh McCulloch's second marriage was to Susan Man, a schoolteacher, whom he met in Fort Wayne in 1836 when he was a young widower.

Hugh McCulloch died at his home, Holly Hill in Prince George's County, Maryland, near Washington, DC, in 1895 and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in DC His wife, Susan McCulloch, died at the residence of her son-in-law, John Brooks Yale, in 1898.

Hugh McCulloch was a millionaire of 1892, and was featured in the book of American Millionaires of that year.

Hugh McCulloch was well-educated but had no business or banking experience.

Hugh McCulloch's honesty proved an essential asset in the age of rascality and dubious paper money.

Hugh McCulloch's remedy was a rapid return to specie payment using gold and silver and retiring the greenbacks.

Hugh McCulloch left the government in 1869 to become a very rich international financier.

The chief authority for the life of Hugh McCulloch is his own book, Men and Measures of Half a Century.

Hugh McCulloch was the last surviving member of the Lincoln Cabinet.