Felix M. Warburg
Felix M. Warburg | |
|---|---|
 Warburg circa 1920 | |
| Born | Felix Moritz Warburg January 14, 1871 Hamburg,Germany |
| Died | October 20, 1937(aged 66) New York City,United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Employer | M. M. Warburg |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Signature | |
 | |
Felix Moritz Warburg(January 14, 1871 – October 20, 1937) was a German-born American banker. He was a member of theWarburg banking familyofHamburg,Germany.[1]
Early life
[edit]Warburg was born inHamburg,in a Jewish family in Germany, on January 14, 1871.[2]He was a grandson of Moses Marcus Warburg, one of the founders of the bank M. M. Warburg (in 1798), and son of Moritz and Charlotte Esther Oppenheim Warburg. Felix's first job at age 16 was in Hamburg, Germany, with N. M. Oppenheim & Co. Felix Warburg was a partner inKuhn, Loeb & Co.[3]
Career
[edit]Warburg was apresidential electorin the1908 U.S. presidential election.[4]
Warburg was an important leader of theAmerican Jewish Joint Distribution Committee,established to help theJewsin Europe in the period leading up to, and especially during, theGreat Depression.Warburg actively raised funds in the United States on behalf of European Jews who faced hunger followingWorld War I.As early as 1919, he was quoted inThe New York Timesdiscussing the dire situation of Jewish war sufferers.[5]
Warburg served as the founder and first president of theAmerican Friends of the Hebrew University,which supports theHebrew University of JerusaleminJerusalem,Mandate Palestine, in 1925.[6][7][8]
Warburg and the Joint Distribution Committee were also instrumental in the 1930s after the global Great Depression following the crash of theNew York Stock Exchangein 1929.[9][10]More interested in his charitable work than banking, after Hitler seized power, Warburg gave money to help aid Jews fleeing Germany. Before he died, Warburg gave $10,000,000 to Jewish causes around the world.[11]
John L. Spivakclaimed GeneralSmedley Butlerhad named Warburg before Congress as part of theBusiness Plot.[12][13]
Personal life
[edit]
He marriedFrieda Schiff(1876–1958), daughter ofJacob Henry Schiff(1847–1920) and Therese Loeb Schiff, on March 19, 1895, in New York.[14]They had four sons and one daughter:
- Frederick Marcus Warburg(1897–1973), married to Wilma L. Shannon[15]
- Gerald Felix Warburg (c. 1902–1971), married first to Marion Bab and then to Natica Nast, the daughter ofCondé Montrose Nast[16]
- Paul Felix Warburg[17]
- Edward Mortimer Morris Warburg(1908–1992), married toMary Warburg
- Carola Warburg Rothschild (1896–1987), married to Walter N. Rothschild, son ofSimon F. Rothschild,chairman of the board ofAbraham & Straus,and founder of theFederated Department Stores[18]Her daughter, Carol Warburg Rothschild, is the mother ofPeter A. Bradfordand grandmother ofArthur Bradford.
All of their children were active in community service.[19]In 1927 Warburg purchased and donated four Stradivari instruments for the members of the newly formed Musical Art Quartet (from the Institute of Musical Art, nowJuilliard):Sascha Jacobsen,Bernard Ocko,Louis Kaufman,and Marie Roemaet-Rosanov.[20]
He died on October 20, 1937, inNew York City.[1][21]He was buried inSalem Fields Cemeteryin Brooklyn.[22]
Legacy
[edit]As a result of hisphilanthropicactivities, a newJewishvillage established inMandate Palestinein 1939,Kfar Warburg,was named after him. He was a trustee of theJewish Theological Seminaryin New York.[23][24]
TheFelix M. Warburg House,in New York's Upper East side was donated by his widow and today houses theJewish Museum.[25]
References
[edit]- ^ab"F. M. Warburg Dies At 66 In Home Here. Senior Partner in Kuhn, Loeb Is Victim of Heart Attack. Ill Only Three Days".The New York Times.October 21, 1937. p. 1.RetrievedFebruary 23,2015.
Felix M. Warburg, financier, and champion of many philanthropic causes, died yesterday of a heart attack at the age of 66. He was stricken at 4 A. M. last Monday in his home at 1,109 Fifth Avenue, but his illness at first was not regarded as serious.
- ^Pfeffer, Jacob (September 12, 1932)."Felix M. Warburg".Distinguished Jews of America: A Collection of Biographical Sketchs of Jew Who Have Made Their Mark in Business, the Professions, Politics, Science, Etc.Volume 1:469.
- ^"Felix Warburg".The New York Times.October 21, 1937. p. 22.RetrievedSeptember 15,2019.
- ^"New York Electors Meet".The Sun.Vol. LXXVI, no. 134. New York, N.Y. January 12, 1909. p. 5 – viaChronicling America.
- ^"Tells Sad Plight of Jews".The New York Times.November 12, 1919. p. 7.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022– via Newspapers.com.
- ^"A Visual History of AFHU".American Friends of the Hebrew University.Archived fromthe originalon June 30, 2016.RetrievedAugust 29,2016.
- ^"Felix Warburg Reaches Jerusalem".The New York Times.January 28, 1927. p. 4.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
- ^"Warburg Pledges $1,000,000 to Fund; Will Be Used to Establish Jews on Agricultural Colonies in Russia. Total Now is $6,500,000; Subscription, Conditional on Raising of $10,000,000, Expected to Be Returned Eventually".The New York Times.April 25, 1928. p. 16.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
- ^"Felix Warburg Arrives in London".The New York Times.May 26, 1929. p. 21.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
- ^"MRS. F. M. WARBURG GETS JEWISH POST; She Succeeds Late Husband as Honorary Chairman of Distribution Committee".The New York Times.December 21, 1937. p. 48.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
- ^"Business & Finance: Death of Warburg".Time.November 1, 1937.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022.
- ^Archer, p. x(Foreword)
- ^Schmidt, p. 229
- ^"Warburg Estate Put at 9 Million; $2,970,000 in Gifts Left to Charitable Institutions by Widow of Banker".The New York Times.September 23, 1958. p. 30.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
- ^Whitman, Alden (July 11, 1973)."Frederick M. Warburg, 75, Dies; Investment Banker, Sportsman".The New York Times.p. 44.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022.
- ^"Gerald F. Warburg, 69, Is Dead; Cellist and a Patron of the Arts".The New York Times.February 15, 1971. p. 26.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022.
- ^"Paul Felix Warburg Dead; Was 61; Funeral Services Tomorrow".Jewish Telegraph Agency.October 11, 1965.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022.
- ^"Carola W. Rothschild, Ex-Girl Scout Official".The New York Times.September 1, 1987. p. B6.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022.
- ^"Frieda Schiff"
- ^"Music: From Cremona".Time.January 10, 1927.ISSN0040-781X.RetrievedJanuary 11,2023.
- ^"Felix Warburg, Banker, Dies".Lancaster New Era.New York. AP. October 20, 1937. p. 2.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022– via Newspapers.com.
- ^"Felix Warburg".The New York Times.October 21, 1937. p. 22.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
- ^Warburg
- ^"Raise $500,000 for Nurses.; Mr. and Mrs. Felix M. Warburg Give $100,000 to Jewish Charity".The New York Times.March 21, 1920. p. 14.RetrievedFebruary 17,2022– via Newspapers.com.
- ^"Felix M. Warburg Honored".The New York Times.January 14, 1950. p. 14.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
Further reading
[edit]- Yehuda Bauer (1974)My Brother's Keeper. A History of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 1929–1939Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia,ISBN0-8276-0048-8
External links
[edit]
Media related toFelix M. Warburgat Wikimedia Commons
- M.M. Warburg & Co.
- Felix M. WarburgatFind a Grave
- Newspaper clippings about Felix M. Warburgin the20th Century Press Archivesof theZBW
- Felix M. Warburg papersat Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1871 births
- 1908 United States presidential electors
- 1937 deaths
- 19th-century German Jews
- American philanthropists
- Burials at Salem Fields Cemetery
- Businesspeople from Hamburg
- Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States
- German bankers
- German philanthropists
- Jewish American bankers
- Loeb family
- Warburg family