Thomas Nelson Perkins
Thomas Nelson Perkins (May 6, 1870 – October 7, 1937) was a United States lawyer, businessman, and diplomat. He was a member of the Boston legal firm of Ropes, Gray, Boyden and Perkins. He served as chairman of the board and president of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and director of numerous corporations. During and after World War I, he served in various public roles as an international financial expert. (1)(2)(3)
Youth and Education
Perkins was born in Milton, Massachusetts, the son of Edward C. and Jane S. Watson Perkins. In 1891, he earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, where he was captain of the winning varsity crew. He graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1894. In 1905, he was one of the youngest Fellows of Harvard College ever elected, serving on the Harvard Corporation until 1924, and again from 1926 until his death in 1937. Dartmouth College conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. in 1930. (1)(2)(3)
In 1906, he was best man at the White House wedding of Alice Roosevelt and Nicholas Longworth, a Harvard classmate. (2)(5)
Lawyer and International Financial Expert
Practicing law in Boston beginning in 1894, Perkins was a member of the legal firm of Ropes, Gray, Boyden and Perkins and was an attorney for many corporations. During World War I, he was a member of the Priorities Commission and Chief Counsel of the War Industries Board, Assistant to the Secretary of War, and Assistant Director of Munitions. Following the war, he was a member of the American Commission to the Inter-Allied War Conference in Paris, of the Reparations Commission in Paris in 1924–26, and president from 1926–30 of the Arbitral Tribunal of Interpretation, headquartered at the Hague. His most important international role came in 1929, as alternate to Owen D. Young, who was chairman of the committee of experts which formulated the Young Plan for the settlement of the war reparations. (1)(2)
Corporate Associations
In a long association with the Boston & Maine Railroad, Perkins served as its Chairman of the Board and in 1929–1930 was its acting president. He was a director of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Flintkote Company, Merimac Chemical Company, General Foods Corporation, First National Bank of Boston, Southern Pacific Company, Puget Sound Power and Light Company, among others. (1)(2)
Relations
In 1900, Perkins married Louisa Catherine Adams, daughter of Charles Francis Adams, Jr. They had three sons: Elliot, James Handasyd, and Thomas Nelson. Perkins was a collateral descendant of the 18th-century Boston merchant, Thomas Handasyd Perkins.
Death
After an illness of two years, Perkins died at his home in Westwood, Massachusetts on October 7, 1937. On January 6, 1941, the Harvard Corporation dedicated the Thomas Nelson Perkins Room in Massachusetts Hall as the new location for meetings of the Corporation. (4)
References
(1) New York Times. T.N. Perkins Dies; Young Plan Aide. October 8, 1937. (2) Boston Globe. Thomas Nelson Perkins Dead: Former Head of Boston & Maine RR. Succumbs to Long Sickness. October 8, 1937. (3) The Harvard Crimson. Thomas N. Perkins ’91, Member of Corporation, Dies at Home. October 8, 1937. (4) The Harvard Crimson. Grads Dedicate Room to Thomas N. Perkins. January 7, 1941. (5) Princess Alice: the Life and Times of Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Carol Felsenthal. 2003. p. 104.
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