Dorothy Lehman Bernhard (April 22, 1903 – March 6, 1969) was a civic leader and philanthropist.Jewish Women's Archive: "Dorothy Lehman Bernhard (1903 – 1969) by Jennifer Rosenberg
retrieved January 14, 2016

Biography

Dorothy Lehman Bernhard was born in New York City to a secular

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, the oldest child of Adele (née Lewisohn) and

Arthur Lehman Arthur W. Lehman (September 24, 1917 – June 19, 2009) was a widely recorded American euphonium virtuoso and soloist. He was noted for having radically changed the way the instrument was technically performed, and was a major influence on euphoni ...

. She had two sisters, Helen Lehman Buttenwieser Lehman and Frances Lehman Loeb. She is the niece of New York governor

Herbert Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American financier and Democratic politician who served as the 45th and first Jewish governor of New York from 1933 to 1942 and represented New York in the United States Senate f ...

and

Irving Lehman Irving Lehman (January 28, 1876 – September 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945. Biography He was born on January 28, 1876, in New ...

, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals in New York State. Her grandfathers were

Mayer Lehman Mayer Lehman (January 9, 1830 – June 21, 1897) was an American businessman, banker, slave owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the three founding brothers of the investment bank Lehman Brothers. Early life Mayer Lehman was born in 1830 t ...

and

Adolph Lewisohn Adolph Lewisohn (May 27, 1849 – August 17, 1938) was a German Jewish immigrant born in Hamburg who became a New York City investment banker, mining magnate, and philanthropist. He is the namesake of Lewisohn Hall (which formerly housed the Colu ...

. In 1920, she graduated from the

Horace Mann School Horace Mann School (also known as Horace Mann or HM) is an American private, independent college-preparatory school in the Bronx, founded in 1887. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from the New Yo ...

after which she attended

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

but left after one year to marry investment banker Richard Jaques Bernhard in 1923. In the 1930s, her family established a charitable fund to aid relatives in emigrating from Nazi Germany and providing assistance in their resettlement; Bernard managed the fund. Thereafter, she dedicated herself to charitable causes. She was involved with the

Child Welfare League of America The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that coordinates efforts for child welfare in the United States, and provides direct support to agencies that serve children and families. The organization's visio ...

for much of her life serving as vice president for 13 years and president from 1957 to 1962. She served on the board of the Citizen's Committee for Children of New York City for twenty years. Being a foster parent, she was a proponent of the deinstitutionalization of foster care. She served as chairwoman of the

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

School of Social Work Advisory Committee. She was appointed to the contributions New York State Board of Social Welfare from 1942 to 1947 and in 1960, she was appointed to the New York City Advisory Board on Public Welfare by Mayor

Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was a German-born American attorney and Democratic Party politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner immigrated ...

. She was also a strong supporter of Jewish organizations serving as a trustee of the

Federation of Jewish Philanthropies UJA-Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal⁣ – ⁣ Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annuall ...

, as vice president of the Jewish Child Care Association from 1940 to 1942, as a board member of the New York Association for New Americans, as an honorary vice president of the Associated YWHA of Greater New York, and as a member of the publications committee of

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

magazine. In 1962, she was presented by

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

, the first Child Welfare Award from the Child Welfare League of America. Bernhard was also an avid art collector, supporter of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, and served on the board of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

Personal life

She had two children with Richard Jaques Bernhard: Robert Arthur Bernhard (b. 1928) and William Lehman Bernhard (b. 1931). Her husband was an investment banker at '' Wertheim & Co.'' Her son William married Catherine Cahill, daughter of attorney John T. Cahill and Grace Pickens who was one of the

Pickens Sisters Jane Pickens Hoving (10 August 1907 – 21 February 1992)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 216-217. was an American singer on ...

, a trio born on a Georgia plantation that reached national stardom in the 1930s with its own radio show, concert tours and records. She was a member of Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. She died of cancer on March 6, 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhardt, Dorothy Lehman Lehman family 20th-century American philanthropists American women philanthropists 1903 births 1969 deaths