Eugene R. Black, Sr.

Eugene Robert Black Sr. (May 1, 1898 – February 20, 1992) was an American investment banker who was the third president of the World Bank Group, serving from 1949 to 1962.

He was the eldest son of Eugene R. Black, who served as the sixth chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1933 to 1934. The first Eugene Robert Black did not use the "Sr." suffix, so his eldest son became Sr.

Early life, education, and military service Black was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1898. with a BA in Latin.

Upon graduating from university in 1917, he enlisted in the United States Navy to fight in World War I;

Career Investment banking Upon leaving the Navy after the war, Black joined the New York investment firm of Harris, Forbes & Co. He worked as a traveling salesperson for the firm, selling bonds and meeting with bankers and investors.

Additional posts From 1962 to 1968, Black was chairman of the Brookings Institution.

In 1963, the United States was considering pursuing a program to create a supersonic transport (SST) to rival the British and French Concorde. President Kennedy commissioned an outside review of the feasibility of a federally funded SST program. Black and Stanley Osborne, chairman of Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, led the commission. The review was completed in December 1963 and given to President Lyndon B. Johnson. The report recommended not pursuing a race against the Concorde and instead focusing the effort initially on building a test aircraft for research.

President Johnson selected Black in 1966 to be Special Adviser to the President on Southeast Asian Social and Economic Development. In this position, Black was charged with organizing and establishing the Asian Development Bank. This was a task that Black was initially quite hesitant to undertake, but Johnson would not take no for an answer. To President Johnson, the creation of the ADB was an important step in securing Asian support for, or at least acquiescence to, the War in Vietnam.

Black also served on a number of boards for corporations and foundations. The University of Georgia Foundation named a fellowship in honor of him and his achievements. Princeton University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1960. Black was Chair of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1967 to 1977.

Personal life Black's first wife, with whom he had a son and a daughter, was Elizabeth B. Black, who died in the early 1930s. His second wife was Susette Heath Black, with whom he had a son.

He retired in 1977 to his home in Southampton, New York.

He died at the age of 93 in February 1992 from kidney and heart ailments.