Eugene Robert Black

He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 7, 1873. He attended the University of Georgia, where he was a member of Chi Phi fraternity and the Phi Kappa Literary Society. Black practiced law for 28 years until he became president of the Atlanta Trust Company in 1921. == Career ==

In 1928, he became Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He succeeded the longtime governor, Max Wellborn, who was also his daughter's father-in-law. When the Wall Street Crash of 1929 happened, he and two cashiers rushed to Nashville, Tennessee, to supply currency and credit to banks in the city and surrounding region. The situation worsened with other cities in the region experiencing bank runs. Black kept his district afloat by rushing large quantities of cash to banks that were experiencing runs and extending credit to any bank that could offer any asset of value. He kept this policy active through the Great Depression into 1933. He, along with George L. Harrison, the governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recommended open market purchases to increase reserves. His insistence on expansionist policies led to the President appointing Black to the Federal Reserve Board in 1933. == Personal life ==

In 1897, he married Gussie Grady, the daughter of Henry W. Grady, the Atlanta journalist and orator. They had a son, Eugene Robert Black II. Black died of a heart attack on December 19, 1934, in Atlanta, Georgia. ==References==