About Federal Reserve History
Federal Reserve History was originally created as part of the commemoration of the Federal Reserve centennial in 2013-2014. The project was an effort to make the vast amount of historical material on the Fed more findable, easier to understand, and easier to use, in order to provide greater transparency into change and continuity in our nation's central bank over the last 100 years.
This website serves as a gateway to the history of the Federal Reserve for educators, students, and the general public. The Fed has a complex structure and mission. The purpose of this site is to help demystify the Fed and its role in the economy, and to explain how the Fed and its mission have evolved over its more than 100-year history. The site identifies several time periods in the Fed’s history, with essays devoted to key events, policy actions, legislation, and the everyday work of Fed employees during each period. It also includes short biographies of Federal Reserve Board members and Reserve Bank presidents.
FederalReserveHistory.org is maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's Economic Research division. Several advisors provide oversight, including Federal Reserve Historian Jonathan Rose and economic historian David C. Wheelock. Learn more about our advisors and authors here.
Content note
This website provides information about individuals who played important roles in Federal Reserve history, some of whom embraced, advocated, or advanced public policies that are wholly inconsistent with our values. This profile and others on this website acknowledge these problematic views and actions. The Federal Reserve History website is committed to transparency in documenting the stories that Fed history reveals and doing so in a manner that is consistent with the Federal Reserve’s commitment to education, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact us. For information about when and why we make changes to the content of the site, please see our update policy. Media inquiries should be directed to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis newsroom.
