Helen Julia Hay Whitney (March 11, 1875 – September 24, 1944) was an American poet, writer,

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

owner and breeder, socialite, and philanthropist. She was a member by marriage of the prominent

Whitney family The Whitney family is a prominent American family descended from non-Norman English immigrant John Whitney (1592–1673), who left London in 1635 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. The historic family mansion in Watertown, known as The Elm ...

of New York.

Early life

Hay was born in 1875 (although some sources say 1876), the daughter of

John Milton Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary for Abraham Lincoln, he became a diplomat. He served as Un ...

(1838–1905), who served as

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

and the United States Ambassador to Great Britain, and Clara Louise Stone (1849–1914). Her maternal grandfather was Cleveland multimillionaire railroad and banking mogul

Amasa Stone Amasa Stone, Jr. (April 27, 1818 – May 11, 1883) was an American industrialist who is best remembered for having created a regional railroad empire centered in the U.S. state of Ohio from 1860 to 1883. He gained fame in New England in the 1840 ...

(1818–1883).

Career

Poet

Helen Hay was a poet and an author of books for children. A number of her poems were published in ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''. One of her poems, ''Love of the Rose'', was used in Leon Ardin's opera, ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (Act 2, no. 15). ''Herbs And Apples'' (1910) is a collection of poems that she published using what she had given for'' The Metropolitan Magazine'' and ''

Collier's Weekly } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

''. "Songs and Sonnets," "Gypsy Verses" are also some of her works produced in such a manner. Several of her works have been republished in the 21st century. John-Hay-Whitney-1910

Horse racing

After her husband's death in 1927, she continued to manage

Greentree Greentree is a estate in Manhasset, on Long Island, New York. The estate was constructed for businessman Payne Whitney in 1904 and was owned by members of the Whitney family for much of the 20th century. It is currently owned by the Greentree ...

, and

Greentree Stable Greentree Stable, in Red Bank, New Jersey, was a major American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm established in 1914 by Payne Whitney of the Whitney family of New York City. Payne Whitney operated a horse farm and stable at Sa ...

, and it continued to be a major force in

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

flat and

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

. Her horses won the American Grand National steeplechase in 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1937. In flat racing, her horses

Twenty Grand Twenty Grand (1928–1948) was an American thoroughbred race horse. Owned and bred by Helen Hay Whitney's Greentree Stable, Twenty Grand was a bay colt by St. Germans out of Bonus. Racing career Trained at age three by James G. Rowe, Jr ...

and

Shut Out Shut Out may refer to: * Shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable ...

won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

in 1931 and 1942, respectively. Twenty Grand, named

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

in 1931, inspired a cigarette brand put out by Axton-Fisher Tobacco Co., which led to a 1936 trademark infringement case it won. The trademark battled over by was the name "Twenty Grand"/"20 Grand" and a depiction of a horse's head. Shut Out was bested for the

in 1942 by 1941 Triple Crown winner

Whirlaway Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...

, when Whirlaway repeated after winning the title in 1941. In 2019, Helen Hay Whitney was posthumously given the industry's highest honor with induction into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

as one of its Pillars of the Turf.

Philanthropy

The beneficiary of a large fortune on the death of her husband, Helen Whitney provided substantial funding to various causes and institutions including the

Payne Whitney Gymnasium The Payne Whitney Gymnasium is the gymnasium of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. One of the largest athletic facilities ever built, its twelve acres of interior space include a nine-story tower containing a third-floor swimming pool, fe ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. In 1943, an ailing Helen Whitney and her daughter Joan created the

Helen Hay Whitney Foundation The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, established in New York in 1943 by Joan Whitney Payson in cooperation with the estate planning of her mother, Helen Hay Whitney (1875–1944), awards the "Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship" for support p ...

which supports early

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

training in all basic

biomedical sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbio ...

Personal life

In 1902, she married

Payne Whitney William Payne Whitney (March 20, 1876 – May 25, 1927) was an American businessman and member of the influential Whitney family. He inherited a fortune and enlarged it through business dealings, then devoted much of his money and efforts to ...

, the son of

William Collins Whitney William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent member of the Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland from ...

(1841–1904) and Flora Payne (1842–1893). Together, Helen and Payne had a daughter and a son: * Joan Whitney (1903–1975), who was the first owner of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

team. *

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was an American venture capitalist, sportsman, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, film producer and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New ...

(1904–1982), who served as the

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, formally the ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St James's is the official representative of the president of the United States and the Federal government of the United ...

The couple built a home at 972 Fifth Avenue in New York City designed by

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...

. Helen Hay Whitney lived there until her death in 1944. The government of France acquired the property in 1952 and is part of the French Embassy in the United States. The Whitneys also owned a estate in

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is an affluent Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is co ...

they called

. Helen Whitney died in 1944 and as part of her bequests left 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 ...

twenty-four objects consisting of paintings, ceramics, textiles, and furniture.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* * *
Profile of Payne and Helen Whitney and details of their home, with photographs, at 972 Fifth Avenue in New York City

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Helen Hay 1875 births 1944 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers American art collectors American children's writers American racehorse owners and breeders American socialites American women children's writers American women poets Massachusetts Republicans New York (state) Republicans People from Manhasset, New York Philanthropists from New York (state) Whitney family