Member Directory,
1847 - 1922

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James Brown Mabon

Banker

Centurion, 1910–1941

born July 16, 1865
North Bergen, New Jersey
died March 10, 1941
New York (Manhattan), New York
elected March 5, 1910
Age forty-four
proposer of
Member portrait of James Brown Mabon

Archivist’s Notes

Brother of William Mabon

Century Memorial

James Brown Mabon, stockbroker, was a Century “amateur” in the best tradition. A genuine lover of art—especially primitives, woodcuts, and etchings—he frequented galleries at home and in Europe. He read extensively and cherished his membership in the Grolier. He was generously helpful to Centurion writers who tapped his broad knowledge of finance. At Century gatherings, which he attended regularly, he was welcome as a charming and high-spirited companion.

His business life centered in the Stock Exchange, of which he was a member for forty years and a governor for twenty-nine. Serving as its president during the Pujo investigation, he impressed all with his fair-mindedness and sincerity. He was an indefatigable director of the Union Theological Seminary, which he served with sagacity and modesty.

His most engaging qualities were perhaps his kindness through a long life and his quiet courage in later years, when failing eyesight gradually cut him off from the enjoyment of art and of reading, and curtailed his association with friends. Long before being himself afflicted, he was a leading figure in public charities, such as the Presbyterian Hospital, and an unfailing Good Samaritan in numberless cases where he was able to do good by stealth.

Geoffrey Parsons
1941 Century Memorials

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