Junius Spencer Morgan II
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Junius Spencer Morgan II (June 5, 1867 – August 18, 1932) was a banker, art collector and nephew of John Pierpont Morgan, Sr.


Early life

Junius Spencer Morgan II was born on June 5, 1867, in
Irvington, New York Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is a suburban Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village of the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, Un ...
, to George Hale Morgan (1840–1911) and Sarah Spencer Morgan (1839–1896), distant cousins. His mother and her brother, John Pierpont Morgan, were two of the five children born to Junius Spencer Morgan (1813–1890), his grandfather, and Juliet Pierpont (1816–1884), the daughter of John Pierpont (1785–1866). Junius II had a younger sister, Caroline Lucy Morgan (1873–1942), a philanthropist, who never married. He attended St. Paul's School in
Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...
, class of 1884, and graduated from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
with the class of 1888.


Career

Morgan was a banker and a partner in the firm of Cuyler, Morgan & Co. and retired in 1906.


Philanthropy

Morgan was a generous benefactor 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 ...
in New York and gave many works to the (future) Department of Drawings and Prints from a broad range, dating mainly from the sixteenth century, including 2 woodblocks and many prints by
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...
in 1919. He was equally generous in his gifts to what is now the Princeton University Art Museum, many of whose strengths in collecting prints and drawings can be traced to Morgan. Some of his other graphic works were sold at Anderson Galleries, New York, February 18, 1921. Morgan was also a generous donor to his alma mater. When a student, he started collecting early editions of the Latin poet
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
, a collection he gave to the
Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...
in 1896, adding new volumes every year until his death in 1932. In January 1932, he was awarded the
Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...
by Signor Comandante Emanuele Grazzi, the Italian Consul General.


Personal life

Morgan was married to Josephine Adams Perry (1869–1963), the daughter of Brig. Gen. Alexander James Perry (1828–1913) and Josephine Adams (1834–1917), and the granddaughter of Nathaniel Hazard Perry (1803–1832), the brother of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and youngest son of Christopher Raymond Perry. From 1892 to 1897, they lived in Rye at the Jay Estate, where their first child was born. Together, they had: * Sarah Spencer Morgan (1893–1949), who married Henry B. Gardner (1891–1932) in 1913. * Alexander Perry Morgan (1900–1968), who married Janet Croll (1901–1985) in 1921. On August 18, 1932, Morgan died of a heart attack in Valmont, Switzerland, while with his sister Caroline. His funeral was held at the American Cathedral Church of the Trinity in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and he was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery. The bulk of his estate was left to his two children.


Popular culture

Morgan is featured in the book The Personal Librarian as the individual who introduces Belle da Costa Greene to his uncle
J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * '' Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Pa ...
.


See also

* Morgan family


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Junius Spencer II 1867 births 1932 deaths American art collectors American bankers Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) Morgan family People from Irvington, New York Princeton University alumni St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni