Harold Theodore Tate
Harold Theodore “Theo” Tate was the 26th Treasurer of the United States from May 31, 1928 until January 17, 1929, serving under President Calvin Coolidge. While holding that post, his duties included being the signatory on United States currency.
He was born on December 28, 1875, the son of Allen S. Tate and Ariana Peck Tate of Grainger County, Tennessee. His father Allen was the assistant Attorney General in the Department of the Interior under President William McKinley. H.T. Tate had previously served as Deputy Treasurer of the United States, and one of his duties in that post included signing the President's paycheck. His signature was the first to be included on the modern sized United States paper money as Treasurer of the United States.
Managing money seems to have run in this family. H. T. Tate's brother Ernest served as Treasurer of the Southern Railway, headquartered at 15th and K Street N.W. in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks away from the United States Department of the Treasury.
H.T. Tate died on October 23, 1960 and is buried in Emma Jarnagin Cemetery in Morristown, Tennessee.
Siblings H.T. Tate and Ernest Tate were, respectively, the grand-uncle and grandfather of radio broadcaster, David Tate.
