Edward N. Gadsby Papers
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Creator
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Biographical Note
Edward Northup Gadsby was born in North Adams, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1923 and received his law degree from New York University in 1929. After practicing in New York for eight years, he returned to North Adams, where he practiced for 10 years (1947-1952) before being named to the Massachusetts Public Utilities Commission. From 1952-1956 he served as counsel to the commission.
In 1957 Gadsby was named by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and a year later became its chair. He resigned in 1961, shortly after he had relinquished the chairmanship upon the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. He joined a private law firm, Colson and Morin, which had branch offices in Boston, Washington, and Puerto Rico and opened a small office in Williamstown, MA. In 1965, Gadsby closed the Williamstown office and moved to Cambridge, MA, where he continued as a partner in the firm. In 1972, Colson and Morin left to join Dickstein, Shapiro and Morin, Gadsby continued the firm under the name of Gadsby and Hannah.
In 1934, Gadsby married Isabella E. Halsey, and the couple had two children. Gadsby died in Boston, MA on June 12, 1973.
Sources:
Gadsby, Edward, Biographical File, NYU Archives.
Arrangement
Folders within each series are arranged chronologically.
The files are grouped into 3 series:
Missing Title
- Correspondence
- Newspaper Clippings
- Publications
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains correspondence, published opinions, clippings, and speeches of Edward N. Gadsby. The collection has been divided into three series: Correspondence, Newspaper Clippings, and Publications. Correspondence includes letters during Gadsby's tenure on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as personal correspondence. Newspaper clippings include articles and excerpts from the North Adams Transcript during the early 1940s, when Gadsby was particularly active in local and state politics. The Publications Series contains several volumes of opinions authored by Gadsby when he was associated with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, a bound set of his collected speeches as Chair of the SEC, and two editions of the Matthew Bender Business Organizations series, relating to the Security Exchange Act of 1934, which Gadsby edited and which include his handwritten edits.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions.
Use Restrictions
Some materials may be restricted. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2641
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: university-archives@nyu.edu
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Edward N. Gadsby Papers; MC 175; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.
Location of Materials
Provenance
Edward N. Gadsby, Jr. donated this collection to the University Archives in 2004.