John Hay Whitney - Family, Sporting life, Personal life, Military career, Political life, Philanthropy

Financier and publisher, born in Ellsworth, Maine, USA. A member of a patrician family and a Yale graduate (1926), he had a varied career in motion pictures, publishing, and finance. He was chairman of Selznick International Pictures (1936–40), during which time the company produced one of the most popular films of all time, Gone with the Wind. A senior partner in J H Whitney & Co, investment bankers, he was publisher of The New York Herald Tribune (1957–66) and served as US ambassador to Britain (1956–61).

John Hay Whitney (August 27, 1904 in Ellsworth, Maine – February 8, 1982), colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.

Family

Whitney was a descendant of John Whitney, a Puritan who settled in Massachusetts in 1635, as well as of William Bradford, who came over on the Mayflower, and his two grandfathers were presidential cabinet members. His father was Payne Whitney, and grandfather was William C. Whitney.

The Payne Whitneys lived around the corner from James B. Whitney's uncle, Oliver Hazard Payne, a business partner of John D.

"Jock" Whitney attended Yale College.

After graduating in 1926, Whitney went to Oxford University, but the death of his father necessitated his returning home.

Sporting life

Whitney inherited his family's love of horses, a predilection he shared with his sister, Joan Whitney Payson. Alhough Whitney entered the Grand National annually, he never again came close to winning.

He entered four horses in the Kentucky Derby in the 1930s, "Stepenfetchit," which finished 3rd in 1932, "Overtime," which finished 5th in 1933, "Singing Wood," which finished 8th in 1934, and "Heather Broom," which finished 3rd in 1939.

In 1929, Whitney was hired as a clerk at the firm of Lee, Higginson, where he met Langbourne Meade Williams, Jr., the son of the founder of Freeport Texas Co., a sulfur mining company. Whitney soon was Freeport's biggest shareholder, enabling Williams to sack the chairman and his management team. Williams became Freeport's president in 1933 and Whitney was appointed Chairman of the Board.

Technicolor

Whitney invested in several Broadway shows, including Peter Arno's 1931 revue Here Goes the Bride, a failure that cost him $100,000, but was more successful as one of the backers of Life with Father.

An October 1934 Fortune article on the Technicolor Corporation noted Whitney's interest in pictures. Cooper approached Whitney with the idea of investing in Technicolor. Whitney and his cousin Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney bought a 15% stake in Technicolor.

Whitney was also the major investor in David O. Whitney & Whitney & is the oldest venture capital firm in the U.S. In 1958, while he was still ambassador to the United Kingdom, his company Whitney Communications Corp. Whitney Communications also owned and operated other newspapers, plus magazines and broadcasting stations.

Personal life

Although married to Mary Elizabeth Altemus, he was romantically linked to Tallulah Bankhead, Paulette Goddard and Joan Crawford. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard met at one of Whitney's parties. He divorced Mary, and in 1942, married Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, ex-wife of James Roosevelt, son of Franklin D.

During the 1970s, Jock Whitney was listed as one of the ten wealthiest men in the world. a 12-room house in Saratoga Springs, which the Whitneys used when they attended horse races; In addition, the Whitneys shared a renowned Kentucky horse farm with Whitney's sister.

Military career

Whitney served in the United States Army Air Forces as an intelligence officer during World War II, assigned to the Office of Strategic Services.

Political life

Whitney was the major backer of Dwight D.

Philanthropy

Payne Whitney made substantial gifts to Yale, to the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and the New York Public Library. After his death, the family built the Payne Whitney Gymnasium at Yale in his honor. The family also financed Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic at New York Presbyterian Hospital in 1932.

Whitney created the John Hay Whitney Foundation for educational projects in 1946.