Harry Frank Guggenheim (August 23, 1890 – January 22, 1971) was an American businessman, diplomat, publisher, philanthropist, aviator, and horseman.

Early life

He was born August 23, 1890, in West End, New Jersey. He was the second son of Florence ( née Shloss) Guggenheim (1863–1944) and Daniel Guggenheim. He had an older brother, U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Meyer Robert Guggenheim, and a younger sister,

Gladys Guggenheim Straus Gladys Eleanor Guggenheim Straus (August 15, 1895 – March 14, 1980) was an American heiress who became an expert on food and nutrition. Early life She was born in Elberon, New Jersey on August 15, 1895 as Gladys Eleanor Guggenheim. She was a da ...

. His father who assumed control of the Guggenheim family enterprises after his grandfather's death in 1905, and his mother was a co-founder, and president, of the Guggenheim Foundation as well as the treasurer of the Women's National Republican Club from its inception in 1921 to 1938. He graduated in 1907 from the Columbia Grammar School in Manhattan, and then he attended the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffiel ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. He later left Yale and served a three-year apprenticeship at the American Smelting and Refining Company in Mexico. The company was owned by the Guggenheim family. He resumed his education in 1910 at England's Pembroke College at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

from which he was awarded a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

, both in 1913.

Career

In 1917 he bought a Curtiss flying boat and moved to

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

. In September 1917 he joined the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

and served overseas in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

as a member of the First Yale Unit during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1924, his parents established the

Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation The Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation is located at 950 Third Avenue in Manhattan. New York, NY 10022. History The Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation was founded in 1924 by Florence (née Shloss) and Daniel Guggenheim. Between 1930 ...

and he was made a director and later president. He sponsored

Robert H. Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard successfully laun ...

's private research into liquid fuel rocketry and space flight. He provided funds for the establishment of the first Guggenheim School of Aeronautics at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1925. Guggenheim became president of the

Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics was established by Daniel Guggenheim and his son, Harry Guggenheim on June 16, 1926. Between 1926 and 1930 the fund disbursed $3 million, making grants that established schools or researc ...

a year later. This fund, totaling $3 million, included an equipment loan for operating the first regularly scheduled commercial airline in the United States. It also provided for the establishment of the first weather reporting exclusively for passenger airplanes. Guggenheim was inducted into the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...

in 1971 for his service to aviation.

Military career

, he was commissioned Lt. J. G., USNRF, and was sent to

. He also served in England and Italy until the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, when he left the Navy with the rank of Lt. Commander. Guggenheim was a lieutenant commander. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was recalled to active duty in the Navy and served in the South Pacific as a tail gunner on a

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

. Guggenheim rose to the rank of captain by the end of the war.

Public service

Guggenheim was the United States ambassador to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

from 1929 until his resignation in 1933. According to his obituary, "much of his time during that period was devoted to prevailing on the Cuban dictator‐president, Gen.

Gerardo Machado y Morales Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado entered the presidency with widespread popularity and support from the major polit ...

, "not to murder too many of his political enemies," as Mr. Guggenheim later put it. In 1929, President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

appointed Guggenheim to serve on the National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics, a position that he held until 1938. In 1948, as president of the

, he continued to support United States aviation progress when he helped organize the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Jet Propulsion Center at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

and the Guggenheim Laboratories for Aerospace Propulsion Sciences at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

Thoroughbred horse racing

Guggenheim was a participant in the founding of the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park i ...

. From 1929 he was a major

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse owner and breeder. His Cain Hoy Stable raced in the United States and was the owner of numerous successful horses including the 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star, the only horse ever to defeat the legendary Native Dancer, and

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

winner Bald Eagle. Also he was the breeder and owner (until his death) of Ack Ack, who is in the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and was American Horse of the Year in 1971.

''Newsday''

Guggenheim, with his third wife,

Alicia Patterson Alicia Patterson (October 15, 1906 – July 2, 1963) was an American journalist, the founder and editor of ''Newsday''. With Neysa McMein, she created the ''Deathless Deer'' comic strip in 1943. Early life Patterson was the middle daughter of Al ...

, founded the newspaper '' Newsday'' in 1940. Guggenheim was president of the company, while his wife was editor and publisher until her death in 1963, then he assumed those duties until 1967. The circulation of Newsday reached 450,000 and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1954. In 1967, he turned over the

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

position to

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...

and continued as president and editor-in-chief. But Guggenheim was disappointed by the liberal drift of the newspaper under Moyers, criticizing the "left-wing" coverage of Vietnam War protests. The two split over the 1968 presidential election, with Guggenheim signing an editorial supporting

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, when Moyers supported

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

. Guggenheim sold his majority share to the then-conservative

Times-Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

over the attempt of newspaper employees to block the sale, even though Moyers offered $10 million more than the Times-Mirror purchase price; Moyers resigned a few days later. Guggenheim, who died a year later, disinherited Moyers from his will.

Personal life

On November 10, 1910, Guggenheim was married to Helen Rosenberg at the Rosenberg residence on 166 West 78th Street. Helen was a daughter of Herman Rosenberg. Before their divorce in 1923, they were the parents of two daughters: * Joan Guggenheim (1912–2001), a Captain in the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

who served in the Pacific in

. She married Albert Van de Maele. * Nancy Guggenheim (1916–1973), an author and ballet teacher who first married George T. Draper, a grandson of Charles A. Dana. She later married lawyer Thomas J. Williams. His second marriage was on February 3, 1923 to Caroline (née Morton) Potter (1882–1952), a daughter of Paul Morton, the former vice president of the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

who served as

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

under President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. Caroline, the former wife of William C. Potter (president of the Guaranty Trust Co. who had done business with Guggenheim in 1920), was also the niece of

Joy Morton Joy Sterling Morton (September 27, 1855 – May 10, 1934) was an American businessman and entrepreneur best known for founding Morton Salt and establishing the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. Biography He was born on September 27, 1855 in D ...

, founder of

Morton Salt Morton Salt is an American food company producing salt for food, water conditioning, industrial, agricultural, and road/highway use. Based in Chicago, the business is North America's leading producer and marketer of salt. It is a subsidiary of h ...

, and a granddaughter of

Julius Sterling Morton Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat, taking a conservative position on ...

, who had served as Secretary of Agriculture under President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. Before their divorce in 1923, they were the parents of one daughter: * Diane Guggenheim (1924–1991), who married four times; first to singer John Meredith Langstaff, then Robert Guillard, followed by the Irish journalist William Meek, and, lastly, to John Darby Stolt. On July 1, 1939, Guggenheim married for the third time to Alicia (née Patterson) Brooks (1906–1963) in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. Alicia, the former wife of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

James Simpson Jr. and football coach Joseph W. Brooks, was a daughter of

Joseph Medill Patterson Joseph Medill Patterson (January 6, 1879 – May 26, 1946) was an American journalist, publisher and founder of the '' Daily News'' in New York. At the time of his death the ''Daily News'' maintained a Sunday circulation of 4.5 million copie ...

(founder of the New York Daily News) and sister of James Joseph Patterson. Guggenheim died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on January 22, 1971, at "Falaise", his home at Sands Point on Long Island, New York. He was buried in Salem Fields Cemetery in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

References

External links

* *
Harry F. Guggenheim Letters, 1930-1932 MS 409
held by Special Collection & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
Harry Guggenheim
standing second from right, during a gathering of the Guggenheim Fund Board for Aeronautics. Sitting second from left is Daniel Guggenheim, whom the fund was named after, with Orville Wright next to him. Standing behind Wright is Charles Lindbergh. {{DEFAULTSORT:Guggenheim, Harry 1890 births 1971 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy reservists Jewish American philanthropists

Harry Frank Guggenheim Harry Frank Guggenheim (August 23, 1890 – January 22, 1971) was an American businessman, diplomat, publisher, philanthropist, aviator, and horseman. Early life He was born August 23, 1890, in West End, New Jersey. He was the second son of Fl ...

Ambassadors of the United States to Cuba American racehorse owners and breeders New York Racing Association executives American humanitarians Medill-Patterson family People from Long Branch, New Jersey Deaths from cancer in New York (state) New York (state) Republicans Burials at Salem Fields Cemetery People from Manhasset, New York Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni Philanthropists from New York (state) Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School alumni