Meyer, Eugene

Meyer, Eugene, 1875–1959, American financier and newspaper publisher, b. Los Angeles. He was a successful broker and a director of many corporations. In 1917 he was appointed to guide American war production and finance, serving in many government agencies. He was director of the War Finance Corp. from 1918 to 1920 and from 1921 to 1925. After organizing the Reconstruction Finance Corp. (1931), he became its first chairman. In 1946 he was appointed first president of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). Meyer bought the Washington Post in 1933 and made it one of the country's most influential newspapers. In 1954 it absorbed the Times-Herald. Succeeded as publisher in 1946 by his son-in-law, Philip L. Graham, Meyer remained board chairman until his death.