John Moody
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John Moody (1868 - 1958) was a U.S. financial analyst and investor. Pioneered the rating of bonds and founded Moody's Investment Services, which later merged into Standard & Poor (S&P). S&P continued publishing Moody's Manuals, carrying on the tradition begun by the seminal Moody's Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities and continued by the annual Moody's Analyses of Investments.
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Moody and Bond Rating
Moody's was later merged into Dunn and Bradstreet, only to become again an independent corporation in 2001. Moody's status is reflected in Thomas Friedman's 1996 comment that "There are two superpowers in the world today in my opinion. There's the United States and there's Moody's Bond Rating Service. The United States can destroy you by dropping bombs, and Moody's can destroy you by downgrading your bonds. And believe me, it's not clear sometimes who's more powerful." (From Feb. 13, 1996 interview with Jim Lehrer.)
Honors
Received honorary LL.D. from Boston College. Made Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem by Pope Pius XI.
Family
Son of William Francis Moody (1834-1919) and Sarah Jane Nichols (1839-1897). Was one of 5 siblings: Jeanette Hope Moody (1871-?), William Francis Moody (1872-1958), Eliot Crofts Moody (1875-?), and Arthur Henry Herbert Moody (1876-?).
Married to Anna Mulford Addison (1877-1965) who was born in Nice, France. Children include UCLA Philosopher and Medievalist, Ernest Addison Moody(1903-1975) and John Edmund Moody (1900-1926), who died of typhoid fever in Messina, Italy.
Autobiographical works
- The Long Road Home (1933) Copyright renewed 1961 (http://www.gutenberg.net/1/1/8/2/11823/11823-8.txt) Public domain in 2029 (http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm).
- Fast by the Road (1942) Copyright renewed 1969 (http://www.gutenberg.net/1/1/8/3/11839/11839-8.txt) Public domain in 2038 (http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm).
Works Available Online
- The Railroad Builders, A Chronicle of the Welding of the States (1919): formatted (http://www.nevadaheritage.com/history/RR-history.htm) and unformatted (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=3036) editions (available courtesy of Project Gutenberg).