In 1934, Morgenthau was appointed to the Treasury by close confidante President Roosevelt. Once there, he devised a system for funding World War II by selling small war bonds to private citizens. The program raised $49 billion. In 1944, Morgenthau served as chairman of the Bretton Woods conference, the landmark financial summit at which the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were established, along with the modern financial system by which international currencies are pegged to the dollar.
Top 10 Best Cabinet Members
As the President-elect and his transition team think about whom to tap for top jobs in the Obama Administration, TIME looks back on a group of 20th-century Cabinet members who distinguished their offices