Eccles, Marriner Stoddard (1890-1977), was an American financier. He served on the Federal Reserve Board from 1934 to 1951, and was chairman of its board of governors from 1936 to 1948. Eccles believed the government should stimulate the economy during the Great Depression of the 1930’s by spending large amounts of money on government projects. He was the principal author of the Banking Act of 1935, which revised the Federal Reserve System.
Eccles was born in Logan, Utah, on Sept. 9, 1890. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1909, and served as a Mormon missionary until 1911. He became known as an outstanding banker and businessman. In 1934, he was named assistant to the secretary of the treasury. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him to the Federal Reserve Board later that year. Eccles died on Dec. 18, 1977.
