Captain Josiah W. Macy Jr. (c. 1837 – October 5, 1876) was an American

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Biography

Macy was born into a philanthropic family. The elder Josiah W. Macy established a shipping and commission firm in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, after leaving the family home in

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

, where his family had settled during the early 17th century. Josiah Macy's sons and grandsons earned their money from an

oil company The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (of ...

that was later incorporated into the

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

under the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothe ...

. Macy's eldest daughter Mary K. Macy (later Willets), born in 1860, died in 1893. His daughter Catherine "Kate" Everit Macy (1863–1945) continued the Macy family's philanthropic habits throughout her entire life, and by the time of her death in 1945, the

Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, or Macy Foundation, is a philanthropic foundation founded in 1930 by Kate Macy Ladd (1863–1945) in honor of her father, Josiah W. Macy Jr. The current president is Holly Humphrey, MD, MACP. History Since 19 ...

had received about $19 million from her and her estate. Macy's son

V. Everit Macy Valentine Everit Macy (March 23, 1871 – March 21, 1930) was an American industrialist and philanthropist, involved in local government. In the 1910s and 1920s, he served in Westchester County, New York, as commissioner of the Department of Chari ...

(1871–1930) was a prominent statesman in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, and a benefactor of

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

. Macy's wife, Caroline Louisa Everett, lived from December 1838 to December 31, 1898. Josiah W. Macy Jr. died from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

at his estate in

Harrison, New York Harrison is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, northeast of Manhattan. The population was 28,218 at the 2020 census. History Harrison was established in 1696 by a patent granted by the British government to John Harrison a ...

on October 5, 1876.The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation
/ref> Upon his death, his thirteen-year-old daughter Kate inherited $15 million, while his five-year-old son V. Everit inherited over $20 million.

Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation

The

Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, or Macy Foundation, is a philanthropic foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U. ...

was endowed in the name of Captain Josiah W. Macy Jr. by his daughter ( Catherine "Kate" Everit Macy) in 1930. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine in 1930 reportedTime Magazine 1930 Report
Content preview at https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787680,00.html. that the Foundation created a

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

"to pay the expenses of an assistant for

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

. First incumbent will be Dr. Einstein's good friend and familiar, Dr. Walter Mayer,

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

References

Year of birth uncertain 1876 deaths Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation people 1837 births {{shipping-bio-stub