Moses Taylor Pyne

Moses Taylor Pyne (December 21, 1855 – April 22, 1921), was an American financier and philanthropist, and one of Princeton University's greatest benefactors and its most influential trustee. Biography The son of Percy Rivington Pyne (1820-1895) and Albertina Shelton Taylor Pyne (1833-1900), Moses Taylor Pyne was born in New York City in 1855, graduated from Princeton in 1877, and Columbia University Law School in 1879. He was general solicitor of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad for eleven years before retiring to manage his financial interests, board memberships, and philanthropic activities. Pyne inherited a fortune that had originated in part from the enormous wealth of his grandfather and namesake, Moses Taylor (1806-1882). In partnership with Pyne's father, Percy Rivington Pyne, Moses Taylor earned his initial fortune primarily as commission agent in the Cuban sugar trade providing services to plantation owners in Cuba, which he later parlayed into a large portfolio of financial, railroad, mining, and utility investments. Pyne was heavily involved in the Cuban slave trade, which produced a large portion of his profits. Over the course of his career, Pyne invested three million dollars from slaveholding Cuban planters in American businesses and industries. Pyne decided early on in his life to dedicate himself to advancing the interests of his alma mater, and in 1884 gained a seat on the Board of Trustees of Princeton at age 28. Settling in the town of Princeton, his estate, Drumthwacket, is now the official residence of the governor of New Jersey. Pyne's wealth allowed him to focus on his philanthropy and involvement in civic organizations, and the list of organizations in which he was involved speaks to the extent of his generosity and the breadth of his interests. According to historian William Selden: “Moses Taylor Pyne was a director of four banks, four steel and metal manufacturing companies, one gas company, one insurance company, eight railroads and president of one railroad, two hospitals, two secondary schools, two YMCAs; and a vestryman of four Episcopal churches.