Alan Greenspan was born in New York City on March 6, 1926, to Herman H. and Rose G. Greenspan. His bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees in economics were all earned at New York University. For three decades, 1954-1974 and 1977-1987, he was chairman and president of an economic consulting firm in New York City, Townsend-Greenspan & Co., Inc (Martin 12). His distinguished record during this time was reflected by his elections as chairman of the Conference …showed first 75 words of 1195 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1195 total…fourth-largest commercial bank) and Alcoa (the nation's largest aluminum company). His honorary degrees are numerous, including those from Harvard, Yale, Pennsylvania, Leuven (Belgium), Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and Colgate universities, and he was the joint recipient with Arthur Burns (a Fed chairman in the 1970s) and William Simon (a former treasury secretary) of the Thomas Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service Performed by an appointed official, presented by the American Institute for Public Service (1976).