Mellon was born on March 24, 1855 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was an alumnus of Western University of Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1873. Early on, Mellon demonstrated his financial abilities. Before his graduation in 1872, Mellon was placed by his father in a lumber and coal business which he managed to become a profitable enterprise. He worked with his father’s bank, the T. Mellon & Sons in 1880 which he eventually owned in 1882. Mellon was instrumental in organizing the Union Trust Company and the Union Savings Bank of Pittsburgh in 1889.
Aside from banking, Mellon also ventured into construction, shipbuilding, steel and oil businesses. However, Mellon was said to have built huge enterprises in his coke, carborundum, and aluminum businesses. He financed the ventures of Charles M. Hall which helped him grow his refinery into what was later known as Aluminum Company of America. He also partnered with Edward G. Acheson in founding the Carborundum Company. Mellon was also one of the first who invested in the New York Shipbuilding Corporation.
In 1921, Mellon was appointed by President Warren G. Harding as Secretary of the Treasury. For his service in the US Treasury of ten years and eleven months, Mellon has the third longest tenure in the Treasury. He also served in the same office through the presidencies of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert C. Hoover.
However, in 1932, a petition was filed by some jobless men from Pennsylvania to force President Hoover and the Congress to create jobs. When investigated, President Hoover found out that it was Mellon who financed the march, undermining the president’s faith in his Secretary of the Treasury. An impeachment complaint was filed which led to Mellon’s resignation.
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