Wikipedia

Ransom M. Cook

This article is about the American banker. For the inventor, see Ransom Cook.

Ransom McCurdy Cook (September 23, 1899 – February 14, 1986) was an American banker who served as president of Wells Fargo Bank from 1960 to 1964.

Ransom M. Cook
President of Wells Fargo Bank
In office
1960–1964
Preceded byIsaias W. Hellman III
Succeeded byH. Stephen Chase
Personal details
Born
Ransom McCurdy Cook

(1899-09-23)September 23, 1899
Portland, Oregon
DiedFebruary 14, 1986(1986-02-14) (aged 86)
Penngrove, California
Spouse
Margaret Scheld
​
​
(m. 1945; died 1961)​
RelationsDonald Cook (brother)
ChildrenRansom S. Cook
Parent(s)Edith Parker Cook
Frank Ransom Cook
EducationJefferson High School
Alma materOregon State College

Early life edit

Cook was born on September 23, 1899, in Portland, Oregon, where he was raised.[1] He was a son of Edith (née Parker) Cook (1863–1940) and Frank Ransom Cook (1867–1951),[2] who was originally from Sandusky, Ohio, and later relocated to Hilo, Hawaii.[3] His elder brother was Mortimer Parker Cook and his younger brother was Donald Cook, a prominent stage and film actor,[4] who was married to Princess Gioia Tasca di Cuto of Palermo from 1937 until his death in 1961.[5][6]

After graduating in 1917 from Jefferson High School in Portland, he attended Oregon State College in Corvallis, Oregon, where he was a Sigma Nu affiliate.[3]

Career edit

In 1921, he joined the Mercantile Trust Company, becoming a vice president in 1926.[1] The Mercantile Trust Company merged with the American Bank to form the American Trust Company of San Francisco.[7] In 1934, Ransom, who was managing the Santa Rosa branch, became manager of the newly opened Sacramento branch of the firm.[8]

In 1951, Cook became senior vice president of the American Trust followed by president of the firm in 1959, succeeding Harris C. Kirk who became chairman while remaining its chief executive officer.[9] The following year, after the American Trust Company merged with Wells Fargo Bank to form Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Company, Cook was chosen to become president of the combined organization.[10] Wells Fargo had been led by Isaias W. Hellman III (a grandson of banker Isaias W. Hellman, a founding father of the University of Southern California) since 1943 (when it was still known as Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Company). Two years after Cook assumed the presidency, the bank went back to being known as the Wells Fargo Bank.[11][12] In 1964, Cook succeeded Hellman as chairman of the board while retaining the post of chief executive officer and was succeeded as president by H. Stephen Chase.[13] In November 1966, Chase succeeded sixty-seven year-old Cook as chairman of the board, who was named chairman of the executive committee and continued to serve as president of the Wells Fargo Bank International Corporation.[14] Cook retired as chairman of the executive committee of Wells Fargo on December 31, 1967,[15] but remained on the board as well as chairman of Wells Fargo Bank International Corporation (where he was succeeded as president by Richard P. Cooley).[16]

Cook also served as president of the California Bankers Association in 1958 and 1959,[9] president of the Association of Reserve City Banks in 1961 and 1962 and a member of the advisory boards of the Export Import Bank and the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C.[1] He also served as chairman of Western American Bank, Ltd. (an international bank formed in London by Wells Fargo and three other banks) from 1968 to 1970 and a director of Euro Finance in Paris from 1966 to 1970.[1]

In 1956, he became a director of Cutter Laboratories (which was purchased by Bayer pharmaceutical in 1974).[17] He also served as a director of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Littleton Industries, Farinon Electric Corporation (acquired by Harris Corporation in 1969), and Industrial Indemnity Company.[1]

Personal life edit

Cook was twice married.[3] His first marriage was to Dorothy Edith Cook (1901–1991). His second marriage was in 1945 to Margaret (née Scheld) Wiggin, the only daughter of a pioneer California family who was educated at Miss Ransom School in Piedmont and in the East.[18] Margaret, the former wife of Philip A. Wiggin, was the daughter of Adolph P. Scheld and the former Leila Carroll.[19][20] Together, they lived at 2519 Broadway in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco in a 1937 home designed by modernist architect Gardner Dailey. Cook was the father of:

He was a member of the Pacific-Union Club and the Bohemian Club and presided over the board of trustees of Presbyterian Hospital and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,[1] where he was interested in Asian art.[21]

Cook died on February 14, 1986, at his ranch at Penngrove near Santa Rosa, California.[21] A memorial service was held for him at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Retired bank executive Ransom M. Cook is dead". The Press Democrat. 4 March 1986. p. 19. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Ransom McCurdy Cook (1899-1986)". Family History Photo Store. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Mrs. Wiggin Will Wed R. M. Cook". The Sacramento Bee. 15 October 1945. p. 13. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Claudia Proves To Be Amusing Play With Sparkling Dialogue". The Sacramento Bee. 17 August 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  5. ^ "DONALD COOK, 60, STAGE ACTOR, DIES; Star of Light Comedies Had Appeared on Screen and TV". The New York Times. 2 October 1961. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Donald Cook, Stage Roue, Dies of Heart Attack". The Sacramento Bee. 2 October 1961. p. 8. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  7. ^ "American Trust Has Facilities Of Trusteeship". Santa Rosa Republican. 21 January 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  8. ^ "AMERICAN TRUST HEADS ARE PICKED Ransom M. Cook Will Manage Branch; James Higgins Is Cashier". The Sacramento Bee. 6 July 1934. p. 13. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Officer Is Elevated By American Trust Co". The New York Times. 16 May 1959. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Wells Fargo and American Trust Banks Merge". The Sacramento Bee. 26 March 1960. p. 18. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  11. ^ "West Coast Bank Plans $100 Million Financing". The New York Times. 10 July 1964. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  12. ^ "WELLS FARGO CUTS SIZE OF STOCK LOAN". The New York Times. 31 July 1964. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Wells Fargo Bank Fills Post". The New York Times. 9 October 1964. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Wells Fargo Bank Fills Top Post". The New York Times. 11 November 1966. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Executives: The Dean's New Desk". Time. 27 October 1967. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Not Quite Retiring". The San Francisco Examiner. 14 December 1967. p. 76. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  17. ^ "EXECUTIVE CHANGES". The New York Times. 16 September 1956. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Mrs. Cook Dies; Wife of Banker". The San Francisco Examiner. 30 November 1961. p. 33. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  19. ^ "SCHELD". The Sacramento Bee. 6 August 1946. p. 15. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  20. ^ "ENGAGEMENT OF MISS SCHELD ANNOUNCED". The San Francisco Examiner. 1 February 1926. p. 12. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  21. ^ a b c "Ransom M. Cook". The San Francisco Examiner. 19 February 1986. p. 23. Retrieved 4 March 2021.

External links edit

Business positions
Preceded by President of Wells Fargo
1960–1964 		Succeeded by
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