Dos Passos, John Randolph

Related Category: Law: Biographies

(dəs păs´əs), 1844–1917, American lawyer, b. Philadelphia. He was admitted to the bar in 1865 and moved (1867) to New York City, where he conducted his practice. His Treatise on the Law of Stockbrokers and Stock Exchanges (1882) became a standard work. Dos Passos was a pioneer in the organization and development of the modern trust company, and in 1891 he helped to organize the American Sugar Refining Company (the “sugar trust”) for H. O. Havemeyer. He opposed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in Commercial Trusts (1901) and vigorously advocated extensive legal reforms in The American Lawyer (1907). He was the father of John Roderigo Dos Passos.