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Photo of A.L.  Mills Jr.

A.L. Mills Jr.

  • Governor, Board of Governors, 1952–1965
  • Born: September 26, 1898
  • Died: May 19, 1986

A.L. Mills, Jr. was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 18, 1952. He was reappointed in 1958 and resigned on February 28, 1965.

Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1898, Mills spent much of his life in the city. He attended Harvard University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1920, then returned to Portland in 1920. For the next two years, Mills was a messenger and clerk at First National Bank. In 1922, he became assistant secretary of Pacific Coast Joint Stock Land Bank. The next year, he began work as vice president of First National Bank, staying with the company until 1932.

Mills left First National Bank to become assistant vice president of U.S. National Bank in 1933. He was promoted to vice president in 1937 and first vice president in 1945. He also began serving as the bank’s director in 1939. In addition to his work in banking, Mills was director of the U.S. National Corporation.

Mills engaged in a number of civic and professional activities throughout his life. He served two different mayors on finance committees for the City of Portland and was a member of the Governor’s Committee on Small Business. He also served as a director of the Portland Chamber of Commerce and of the National 4-H Service Committee, Inc. In addition, he was a member of several organizations, including the American Academy of Political Science and the American Economic Association.

Mills and his wife had four children. He died in 1986.


Written by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See disclaimer.