Charles Sumner Hamlin
1stChairman of the Federal Reserve
In office August 10, 1914 – August 9, 1916
President	Woodrow Wilson
Deputy	Frederic Adrian Delano
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	William P. G. Harding
Member of theFederal Reserve Board
In office August 10, 1914 – February 3, 1936
President	Woodrow Wilson Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Ralph Morrison
Personal details
Born	(1861-08-30)August 30, 1861 Boston,Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 24, 1938(1938-04-24) (aged 76) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Huybertje Pruyn ​ (m. 1898)​
Education	Harvard University (BA,MA)
Signature

Charles Sumner Hamlin (August 30, 1861 – April 24, 1938) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the firstchairman of the Federal Reserve from 1914 to 1916. He previously served as theUnited States assistant secretary of the treasury from 1893 to 1897, and again from 1913 until 1914 when PresidentWoodrow Wilson nominated him as one of the original members of theFederal Reserve Board. After his term as chairman, Hamlin continued to serve on the Board through 1936.^[1]

Charles Sumner Hamlin was born inBoston, Massachusetts, on August 30, 1861, to Anna and Edward Hamlin. His mother was born inEngland toIrish parents, while his father, a coal dealer, was from Massachusetts.^[2] He graduated fromHarvard University with aBachelor of Arts degree in 1883 and received hisMaster of Arts from Harvard in 1886. Sumnerstudied law while completing his master's degree and attained admission to the bar in 1886,practicing law in Boston.

From 1893 to 1897 and again from 1913 to 1914, Hamlin was theAssistant Secretary of the Treasury. He twice ran unsuccessfully forGovernor of Massachusetts, in1902 and1910. On August 10, 1914, he was appointed the first Chairman of the Federal Reserve and served in that capacity until August 9, 1916. Hamlin remained as Fed's board member until 1936. He lectured atHarvard University on government studies from 1902 to 1903.

In 1912, Hamlin was vice president of theWoodrow Wilson College Men's League and president of the Woodrow Wilson League of Massachusetts. He also published pamphlets on statistical and financial subjects, including anIndex Digest of Interstate Commerce Laws (1907) and theIndex Digest of the Federal Reserve Bulletin (1921).

Hamlin died in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 1938.^[1][3][4] He was buried atForest Hills Cemetery inJamaica Plain,Massachusetts.

In 1898, Sumner married Huybertje Lansing Pruyn (April 8, 1878 – March 6, 1964), the daughter ofJohn V. L. Pruyn and granddaughter ofAmasa J. Parker.

Hamlin's papers are archived at theLibrary of Congress.^[5]

• Meltzer, Allan H. (2003).A History of the Federal Reserve – Volume 1: 1913–1951. Chicago:University of Chicago Press. pp. 73–323.ISBN 978-0226520001.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCharles Sumner Hamlin.

• Works by or about Charles Sumner Hamlin at theInternet Archive
• Charles S. Hamlin Papers from the Library of Congress, including diaries from his time as Governor of the Federal Reserve Board
• Statements and Speeches of Charles S. Hamlin

• 1861 births
• 1938 deaths
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century American politicians
• American legal writers
• American people of Irish descent
• Chairs of the Federal Reserve
• Coolidge administration personnel
• Harding administration personnel
• Harvard University alumni
• Hoover administration personnel
• Lawyers from Boston
• Pruyn family
• Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel
• Woodrow Wilson administration personnel

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from April 2022
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Articles with Internet Archive links