Anderson, M. D.

Tennessee native Monroe Dunaway (M. d.) Anderson (1873-1939) joined his brother Frank and William L. and Ben Clayton in an Oklahoma cotton merchandising business in 1904. Anderson served as chief financial officer for the business, known as Anderson, Clayton & Company. In 1907 he moved to Houston and opened a branch office for the company in Houston's original Cotton Exchange building at the corner of Travis and Franklin streets. Anderson, Clayton & Company moved its main offices to Houston in 1916 and in 1923 moved here to the Houston Cotton Exchange building. They prospered and became the leading merchants in the global cotton market. Anderson never married and lived frugally in downtown hotels. In 1936 he established a charitable foundation with the fortune he made in the cotton business. Upon his death in 1939, $20 million of his estate was willed to the M. D. Anderson Foundation. The Texas Legislature authorized the creation of a cancer research hospital in 1941. Upon learning this, trustees of the M. D. Anderson Foundation successfully bid for the institution and helped finance it. The M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Texas Medical Center which the M. D. Anderson Foundation created have become world renowned institutions.

Anderson, M. D. is a historical marker in Houston, Harris County, dedicated in 1993. It is one of 422 historical markers documented in Harris County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 849 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.7589, -95.3592 near Houston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Anderson, Clayton & Co. (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Sam Houston Hotel, Harris County Courthouse (1952), and Christ Church Cathedral.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5201010595. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.