Owen D. Young

Owen D. Young (October 27, 1874 – July 11, 1962) was an American industrialist, businessman, lawyer and diplomat at the Second Reparations Conference (SRC) in 1929, as a member of the German Reparations International Commission. Germany's total reparations were reduced and spread over 59 annual payments. After establishing this "Young Plan", Young was named Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1929. The Young Plan collapsed with the coming of the Great Depression. Young was also instrumental in plans for a state university system in New York. In 1932, he was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. He did not campaign actively, but his friends promoted his candidacy beginning in 1930 and at the 1932 Democratic National Convention. He was highly regarded by candidates Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and some convention observers speculated that they would support Young in the event of a convention deadlock.

Retirement

In 1930, he built the Van Hornesville, New York, Central School in his hometown to consolidate all the small rural schools in the area. In 1963, it was renamed Owen D. Young Central School in his honor. Long active in education, Young was a trustee of St. Lawrence University from 1912 to 1934, serving as president of the board the last 10 years. The main library of the university is named in his honor.

Labor and business leaders leaving the White House after a meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 14, 1938.(L-R): Adolf A. Berle, Philip Murray, John L. Lewis, Owen D. Young, Thomas W. Lamont.

After Young married Louise Powis Clark in 1937, the couple created a winter estate in Florida that included a formal garden and citrus stand along State Road A1A. In 1965, Louise gifted the estate to the State of Florida, and it is now the site of Washington Oaks Gardens State Park.

In 1939, he formally retired to the family farm in New York, where he began dairy farming. He died in Florida on July 11, 1962, following several months of poor health. Long interested in education, he was a member of the New York State Board of Regents, governing body of New York's educational system, until 1946. Then, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey called upon him to head the state commission that laid the groundwork for the State University of New York system. Although the commission represented a wide range of views and opinions, Young achieved a surprising unanimity that resulted in a report containing recommendations adopted by the legislature. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame in 2019.

The School district in Van Hornesville, New York is named in honor of him.