John Mortimer Schiff (August 26, 1904 – May 9, 1987) was an American investment banker and philanthropist. He was a partner in the firm Kuhn, Loeb & Co., as well as a trustee of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, a breeder of championship thoroughbred racehorses, and the national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 1951 to 1956.[1]
John M. Schiff | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Mortimer Schiff August 26, 1904 Roslyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1987 (aged 82) Oyster Bay, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Yale University (B.A.) |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Known for | President of Boy Scouts of America |
| Board member of | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation World Scout Committee (1955-1961) |
| Spouse | Edith Baker |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Mortimer Loeb Schiff |
| Relatives | Jacob H. Schiff (grandfather), David M. Heyman |
| Awards | Breeder of 1970 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Hoist the Flag |
| Honors | Bronze Wolf |
Biography
edit
Schiff was born to a German-Jewish banking family in New York, the son of Adele (née Neustadt) and Mortimer Loeb Schiff. He was grandson of Jacob H. Schiff. In 1925, Schiff graduated from Yale University, where he was an assistant business manager of campus humor magazine The Yale Record.[2] After a year at Oxford University in England, he worked at Bankers Trust. For a time, Schiff worked on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Following the 1931 death of his father, he became a partner in the investment banking firm Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
Scouting movement
editBoth John Schiff and his father were notable early Boy Scouts of America leaders. John Schiff served as national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 1951 to 1956. Schiff also served on the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1955 until 1961.
Schiff was awarded the Bronze Wolf, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting, in 1961. The John M. Schiff Scout Reservation was named in his honor.
Thoroughbred horse racing
editSchiff owned and bred thoroughbred racehorses. He was the breeder of the 1970 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Hoist the Flag and successfully raced a number of horses including Plugged Nickle and Droll Role.[3][4][5]
Philanthropy
editFrom 1965 to 1976, Schiff served as a Trustee of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation then as Trustee Emeritus until his death in 1987.
Personal life
editJohn Schiff married Edith Brevoort Baker, granddaughter of George Fisher Baker who was called "the richest, most powerful and most taciturn commercial banker in U. S. history" in a 1934 TIME magazine article.[6] They had two sons, David T. and Peter G. Schiff. After his first wife's death in 1975, he married Josephine Laimbeer Fell, the widow of John R. Fell Jr., who had been a partner in Lehman Brothers.
His son David served as chairman of Wildlife Conservation Society[7] and married Martha Elizabeth Lawler in an Episcopal ceremony in 1963.[8] In 1997, David's son, Andrew Newman Schiff, married former Vice-President Al Gore's daughter, Karenna Aitcheson Gore in an Episcopal ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Blair, William G. (10 May 1987). "JOHN SCHIFF, A PHILANTHROPIST AND INVESTMENT BANKER, DIES". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ Synnott, Marcia Graham (2010). The Half-Opened Door. 2nd ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. p. 24.
- ^ "Hoist The Flag pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ^ "Plugged Nickle". Equibase Co., LLC. 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ "Droll Role Wins Grey Lag Here". New York Times, Section Sports, page 1. 1972-05-07. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ March 26, 1934 TIME magazine article Baker-Schiff
- ^ New York Times: "CHRONICLE" By NADINE BROZAN February 14, 1996
- ^ Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 63
- ^ New York Times: "Andrew Schiff, Karenna Gore" July 13, 1997
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