Alexander Morgan Hamilton (January 25, 1903 – May 29, 1970) was an American philanthropist and civil servant. He was the grandson of J. P. Morgan the financier, and great-great-grandson of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

, the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.

Early life

Alexander Morgan Hamilton was born on January 25, 1903, in New York City to William Pierson Hamilton (1869–1950) and Juliet Pierpont Morgan (1870–1952), one of four children born to John Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), the financier. Through his paternal grandfather, William Gaston Hamilton (1832–1913), and his great-grandfather,

John Church Hamilton John Church Hamilton (August 22, 1792 − July 25, 1882) was a historian, biographer, and lawyer. He was a son of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Early life Hamilton was born on August 22, 1792, in Philade ...

, he was the great-great-grandson of

, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, and Elizabeth Schuyler (1757–1854). His siblings included Helen Morgan Hamilton (1896–1985),

Pierpont Morgan Hamilton Pierpont Morgan Hamilton (August 3, 1898 – March 4, 1982) was a general officer in the United States Air Force, and the scion of two illustrious families in American history, the Hamilton family, which traces its lineage to founding father ...

(1898–1982), and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (1908–1919). In 1921, he graduated from St. Paul's School, and from Harvard University in 1924.

Career

After graduation, Hamilton worked for a newspaper publisher, a Wall Street banking firm, and even tried his hand at producing motion pictures. In 1930, Hamilton ran an unsuccessful campaign for a State Senate seat in the 16th District of New York as a Republican. He served as the chairman of the board of The New York Young Republican Club. Hamilton went on to serve as the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Markets in New York City, earning a $1 a day, until a disagreement with Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia forced his resignation. He later went on to serve as an Assistant to the Commissioner of Sanitation. During World War II, he served as a Major in the United States Marine Corps. He served for over 15 years as the President of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, one of the oldest historic preservation groups in the United States. Under his leadership, the group assisted in preserving

Hamilton Grange Hamilton Grange National Memorial, also known as The Grange or the Hamilton Grange Mansion, is a National Park Service site in St. Nicholas Park, Manhattan, New York City, that preserves the relocated home of U.S. Founding Father Alexander Hamilt ...

, the historic summer house of his great-great-grandfather, and oversaw its transfer to the National Park Service.

Personal life

Hamilton was married twice. The first marriage was on June 12, 1930, to Katherine Comly (d. 1975), the daughter of Maj. Garrard Comly at St. Elizabeth's Chapel,

Sterlington, New York Sterlington, was a tiny community located in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located between Suffern and Sloatsburg. The name was adopted when the post office opened in 1882. The Sterling Mountain Railway transport ...

, near Tuxedo Park. Katherine's sister, Lanier Comly, who married John Murray Mitchell, was the mother of J. Murray Mitchell Jr. (1928–1990). They divorced in 1935 and she later married James Bogart Tailer in 1936, and after their divorce, to George Townsend Adee (1874–1948), in 1946. On December 26, 1935, the same day his divorce to his first wife was finalized in Reno, Nevada, he married the widow, Elizabeth Malcolm Peltz Warburton Wanamaker (1905–1988). Elizabeth, the daughter of George M. Dallas Peltz (d. 1929), was first married in May 1923 to Edgerton Warburton. They divorced and in August 1932, she married Warburton's cousin, Captain John Wanamaker Jr., son of

Rodman Wanamaker Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (February 13, 1863 – March 9, 1928) was an American businessman and heir to the Wanamaker's department store fortune. In addition to operating stores in Philadelphia, New York City, and Paris, he was a patron of the arts ...

and grandson of

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...

. Wanamaker died on November 29, 1934. Hamilton died of

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

, on May 29, 1970, while on vacation in London.

Notes

External links

The Alexander Morgan Hamilton Family Photograph Collection
at the New-York Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Alexander Morgan 1903 births 1970 deaths Morgan family Schuyler family Harvard University alumni New York (state) Republicans Alexander Morgan United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

Notes

External links