Bonnie Mullen, age 17, of Gadsden, Ala., for her question:

WHO WAS ANDREW MELLON?

Andrew Mellon was a famous American financier who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 until 1932 under  presidents Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.

In 1937, Mellon gave the people of the U.S. his personal art collection, which at that time was worth more than $25 million, as well as a donation of $15 million toward a museum to hold the art. The museum, which opened in 1941 in Washington, D.C., is called the National Gallery of Art.

Mellon was born in Pittsburg, Pa., in 1855. He became an officer of his father's bank and proved his financial skill by developing new coal, oil and aluminum industries. He soon became one of the wealthiest men in the world.

After serving three presidents, Mellon held the post of ambassador to Great Britain in 1932 and 1933. He died in 1937 at the age of 82.