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45-466: Born in 1904 to Payne Whitney and Helen Hay Whitney , Whitney was a member of the wealthy and prominent Whitney family , longstanding fixtures of New York City and New England society. After attending Groton School and Yale College , where he was an oarsman , he inherited a large fortune from his father, making him one of the wealthiest people in the United States. In 1929, he participated in

90-452: A hostile takeover of Lee, Higginson & Co. with Langbourne Willliams , rising to the position of chairman of the board at just 29 years old. In 1946, after serving in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II , he founded J. H. Whitney & Company , the oldest venture capital firm in the United States and the origin of the term "venture capital". By the 1970s, he was one of

135-777: A long illness. Payne Whitney made substantial gifts to Yale, to the New York Presbyterian Hospital , and the New York Public Library . After his father's 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. The foundation provided fellowships to

180-492: A major investor in two of Astaire's Broadway stage vehicles, The Band Wagon (1930) and Gay Divorce (1932), and played a crucial role in securing for Astaire a contract with RKO Pictures in 1933, using his contacts with Merian C. Cooper ; both men were board members of Pan American Airways whose planes were prominently featured in Astaire's breakthrough film with Ginger Rogers : Flying Down to Rio (1933). During

225-566: A member of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association Hall of Fame. On March 1, 1942, he married Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney , ex-wife of James Roosevelt , son of Franklin D. Roosevelt , and adopted her two daughters: Whitney met Fred Astaire in New York City while the former was a student at Yale University and they became lifelong friends, sharing a passion for horse racing. Whitney became

270-414: A number of very large dry martinis" William S. Paley (the legendary founder of CBS), who was Whitney's brother in law, had a gentle rivalry with Whitney. Once while watching television with Whitney at Greentree, Paley wanted to change the channel. 'Where's your clicker?' Paley asked, figuring Jock would have a remote-control switch at his fingertips. Jock calmly pressed a buzzer, and his butler walked up to

315-723: A pair of big-wheel roller skates as a present. A few years later roller skating was one of his most important dance numbers on film. Whitney and Jimmy Altemus provided the lyrics for a sing composed by Fred Astaire, "Tappin' the Time." President Dwight D. Eisenhower took pains to transmit to Ambassador Whitney in London, by telegram, the first round golf scores of the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club on 5 April 1957. Ambassador Whitney had

360-559: A substantial inheritance from his father, William inherited $ 63,000,000 from his uncle, Col. Oliver Hazard Payne . Amongst his many investments, he possessed major holdings in banking, tobacco, railroads, mining and oil. He was also a member of the board of directors and/or an executive officer of several large corporations, including the City Bank New York , and the Great Northern Paper Company , and

405-494: A very demanding and exhausting schedule but was not fazed by it. After having been to three or four receptions one day, his wife was not surprised to find their chauffeur, groggy from his rounds, dozing on the back seat of their limousine and the Ambassador driving the car. Whitney: "I have just had a heart attack and am on a very strict diet. However if you will twist my arm a little, I will probably give in and we will consume

450-600: Is reflected in the form of his name associated with several of his philanthropic endeavors. Whitney was educated at the Groton School . He attended Yale College , where he was a member of Skull and Bones and Delta Kappa Epsilon , and captained the Yale rowing team. After graduating in 1898, Whitney then studied law at the Harvard Law School , receiving his Bachelor of Laws in 1901. In addition to

495-527: 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. Jock Whitney was also an outstanding polo player, with a four-goal handicap, and it was as a sportsman that he made the cover of the March 27, 1933, issue of Time magazine. In 2015, Whitney

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540-919: The Tate Gallery , the National Gallery of Art , the Museum of Modern Art , and the Yale University Art Gallery . Whitney was born on August 17, 1904, in Ellsworth , Maine , 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 . His father was Payne Whitney , and his grandfathers were William C. Whitney and John Hay , both presidential cabinet members. His mother

585-622: The 1956 Suez Crisis , when Eisenhower demanded that the British, French and Israelis terminate their invasion of Egypt . In 1930, Whitney purchased the Llangollen estate as a bridal gift for his fiancée, the Pennsylvania socialite Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Altemus . It was a 2,200-acre (890 ha) historic equestrian farm just outside Middleburg, Virginia . They were married on September 23, 1931. Although married to Altemus, Whitney

630-580: The 1970s, Whitney was listed as one of the ten wealthiest men in the world. The residences at his disposal over the years included an estate on Long Island ; an Atlantic Beach, NY beach house; Greenwood Plantation in Georgia; a townhouse and an elegant apartment in Manhattan ; a large summer house on Fishers Island , near New London, Connecticut ; a 12-room house in Saratoga Springs , which

675-641: 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. He had met Technicolor head Herbert Kalmus at the Saratoga Race Course . In 1932, Technicolor achieved a breakthrough with its three-strip process. Merian C. Cooper of RKO Radio Pictures approached Whitney with

720-505: The Northern Finance Corporation. A horse racing enthusiast in the tradition of his father and brother, William's Greentree Stable , named for their Long Island estate, was a very significant racing and breeding operation for thoroughbred horses. Throughout his life, William Payne Whitney was involved in philanthropic work for a variety of causes. A trustee of the New York Public Library , in 1923 he gave

765-601: The TV set to make the switch. The White House Is Nice, But It's No Greentree! E. J. Kahn, Mr. Whitney's biographer, reported that one of his daughters, Kate, once took her own children on a tour of the White House. Mr. Kahn wrote, After inspecting it, they pronounced it nice enough but hardly on a par with Greentree. [Greentree was the more prestigious of his Long Island residences'] William Payne Whitney William Payne Whitney (March 20, 1876 – May 25, 1927)

810-847: The US, he agreed for the first time to loan part of his collection for the public to see. He provided the Tate Gallery with 56 paintings from the collection in England and specially brought in a further 11 paintings from the US. The exhibition, the John Hay Whitney Collection, ran from 16 December 1960 to 29 January 1961 In 1983 the National Gallery of Art, Washington held an exhibition of the John Hay Whitney Collection with paintings loaned by Whitney's wife, The Museum of Modern Art and Yale University Art Gallery Among

855-586: The United Kingdom ) John Hay . Their Stanford White -designed mansion, Payne Whitney House at 972 Fifth Avenue, was a wedding gift from his maternal uncle, Oliver Hazard Payne . The couple also had an estate, Greentree , in Manhasset, New York . Together, they had two children: On September 20, 1911, Whitney was aboard the RMS Olympic when it was rammed by the warship HMS Hawke. Olympic

900-725: The United States and in Europe. He owned Easter Hero , the Jack Anthony trained horse who was the first to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice in succession, in 1929 under the mount of Dick Rees and again in 1930, when ridden by Tommy Cullinan . In the 1929 Grand National , his horse twisted a plate and was beaten by a nose at the finish. Although Whitney entered the Grand National annually, he never again came close to winning. The Whitneys entered four horses in

945-803: The United States, the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. In 1953, Whitney received The Hundred Year Association of New York 's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." In the late 1960s/early 1970's John Hay Whitney donated two small parcels of land in Manhasset to the County of Nassau and to the Manhasset-Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department. The Nassau County parcel

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990-859: The Whitneys used when they attended horse races; a golfing cottage in Augusta, Georgia , where he was a member of the Augusta National Golf Club ; and a spacious house Cherry Hill in Virginia Water, Surrey, England , near the Ascot Racecourse . Mr. Whitney also owned an estate in Aiken, South Carolina , which he considered his "retirement" home and where he hoped to spend his final days. Whitney died on February 8, 1982, at North Shore Hospital, Manhasset, Long Island, after

1035-491: The Yale Endowment Fund shortly before his death, sufficient estate funds were given to enable Yale's construction of the 9½ story Payne Whitney Gymnasium that too was completed in 1932. As a tribute to him, a road in Manhasset was named after him, Payne Whitney Lane. In 1902, Whitney married Helen Julia Hay (1875–1944), the daughter of then- United States Secretary of State (and former U.S. Ambassador to

1080-682: The arts, financing several Broadway productions and films, including two Academy Award for Best Picture, Gone with the Wind (1939) and Rebecca (1940) . He was an early supporter of Fred Astaire , his longtime friend, and helped secure Astaire his first major film contract with RKO Pictures . His large art collection included famous works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir , Claude Monet , Edgar Degas , Édouard Manet , Edward Hopper , Henri Matisse , James McNeill Whistler , John Singer Sargent , Paul Cézanne , Paul Gauguin , William Blake and Vincent Van Gogh . Works from his collection have been exhibited at

1125-559: The board of trustees of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and named President of the MoMA Film Library in 1935. In 1941 he succeeded Nelson A. Rockefeller as President of MoMA. In 1946 he succeeded Stephen C. Clark as chairman of the board of trustees When Whitney moved to England as United States ambassador, he took a number of his favourite artworks with him to enjoy during his posting. Before his return to

1170-664: The board. He put up half the money to option Margaret Mitchell 's Gone with the Wind for the Selznick film version , in which he then invested, and later in Rebecca (1940). Whitney served in the United States Army Air Forces as an intelligence officer during World War II , assigned to the Office of Strategic Services . This is where he met his good friend and former leader of the CIA, Allen Dulles. He

1215-427: The help of Whitney's boss, who then enlisted Whitney's financial participation, in his efforts to oust founder and Chairman Eric P. Swenson, casting Whitney in the role of corporate raider before the term existed. Whitney was soon Freeport's biggest shareholder, enabling Williams to replace the chairman and his management team. Claiborne was made a vice-president; Williams became Freeport's president in 1933, and Whitney

1260-607: The idea of investing in Technicolor. They joined forces and founded Pioneer Pictures in 1933, with a distribution deal with RKO to distribute Pioneer's films. Whitney and his cousin Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney bought a 15% stake in Technicolor. Whitney was also the major investor in David O. Selznick 's production company Selznick International Pictures , putting up $ 870,000 and serving as chairman of

1305-639: The library $ 12,000,000. Whitney made charitable contributions to the rowing team at his alma mater, Yale University, including donating funds to build a dormitory for the crew. His will bequeathed more than $ 20 million to establish the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic at Cornell University 's medical school , now called Weill Cornell Medicine , and New York Hospital , now New York–Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Smaller amounts to other educational and medical institutions. Although he had contributed $ 1,000,000 to

1350-648: The paintings in his collection, Jock Whitney's prized possession was the Bal au moulin de la Galette painted in 1876 by the French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir . In 1990, his widow put the painting up for auction with Sotheby's , New York and it sold for US$ 78 million to Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito . Whitney's widow donated a number of paintings from his collection to the Greentree Foundation. One of those paintings by Pablo Picasso , Garçon à la pipe

1395-443: The racially and culturally deprived. He became a major contributor to Yale University, where he served as a Fellow of the corporation. In 1951, he and his wife Betsey Cushing Whitney donated land from their " Greentree " estate in Manhasset, New York toward the building of North Shore Hospital. Currently called North Shore University Hospital , it is the flagship hospital of the 3rd largest not-for-profit secular healthcare system in

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1440-607: The two countries in the wake of the Suez Crisis and purchased the New York Herald Tribune . Through the tribune, he was influential in the election of John Lindsay as mayor of New York City in 1965. Whitney was a skilled polo player and raised thoroughbred racing horses, which won him the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1929 and 1930 and were frequent entrants in the Kentucky Derby. He was a patron of

1485-536: The wealthiest men in the world. Whitney was an influential figure in New York City politics and the politics of the Republican Party . As a moderate internationalist, Whitney was an early supporter of Dwight D. Eisenhower 's presidential campaigns, and in 1957, Eisenhower appointed him United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom , a position which had been held by his grandfather and namesake, John Hay . While ambassador, Whitney improved relations between

1530-673: Was Helen Hay Whitney . The Whitneys' family mansion, Payne Whitney House on New York's Fifth Avenue , was around the corner from James B. Duke House , home of the founder of the American Tobacco Co. , father of Doris Duke . Whitney's uncle, Oliver Hazard Payne , a business partner of John D. Rockefeller , arranged the funding for Duke to buy out his competitors. Jock Whitney attended Groton School , then Yale College . He joined Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter), as his father had. Whitney, his father, grandfather, and great-uncle were oarsmen at Yale, and his father

1575-511: Was a clerk at the firm of Lee, Higginson & Co where, through his boss, J.T. Claiborne, Jr., he met former Lee, Higginson clerk Langbourne Meade Williams, Jr. , who had come to Claiborne for help in his efforts to gain control of Freeport Texas Co. Williams was a scion of a founding investment firm in the sulfur mining company. In 1929, the year after Whitney became one of the wealthiest men in America, through inheritance, Williams enlisted

1620-487: 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 a wide variety of philanthropic purposes. His will included funds to expand the New York Hospital , now called NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital , where the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic was established. William Payne Whitney

1665-436: Was appointed chairman of the board. In 1946, Whitney founded J.H. Whitney & Company , the oldest venture capital firm in the U.S., with Benno C. Schmidt, Sr. —who coined the term "venture capital"—with J. T. Claiborne as a partner. Whitney put up $ 10 million to finance entrepreneurs with business plans who were unwelcome at banks. Companies Whitney invested in included Spencer Chemical and Minute Maid . In 1958, while he

1710-467: Was auctioned by Sotheby's in May 2004 for $ 104 million The following works have been publicly exhibited or sold from the former collection of John Hay Whitney. Sources: John Hay Whitney Collection (Catalogue), Tate Gallery, 1960, John Hay Whitney Collection (Catalogue), National Gallery of Art, 1983, Sotheby's Catalogue, auction 10 May 1999, Sotheby's Catalogue, auction 5 May 2004 Whitney gave Fred Astaire

1755-493: Was born on March 20, 1876, to William Collins Whitney (1841–1904) and Flora Payne (1842–1893). His siblings included: elder brother, Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930), Pauline Payne Whitney (1874–1916), and younger sister, Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968). After his mother's death and his father's remarriage (of which he apparently disapproved), Whitney essentially dropped the first name he shared with his father, and became commonly known simply as Payne Whitney. This choice

1800-538: Was captain of the crew in 1898. He was a member of Scroll and Key . While at Yale, he inspired the coining of the term " crew cut " for the haircut favored by the rowing crew which still bears the name. After graduating in 1926, Whitney went to Oxford University , but the death of his father on May 25, 1927 necessitated his returning home. He inherited a trust fund of $ 20 million (approximately $ 343.9 million in 2023 dollars), and later inherited four times that amount from his mother. In 1929, Whitney, despite his vast wealth,

1845-659: Was posthumously inducted to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame as Pillar of the Turf. Whitney was the major backer of Dwight D. Eisenhower and a member of the New York Young Republican Club . Eisenhower appointed him United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom , a post held sixty years earlier by Whitney's grandfather John Hay . Whitney played a major role in improving Anglo-American relations, which had been severely strained during

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1890-473: Was romantically linked to Tallulah Bankhead , Joan Bennett , Paulette Goddard and Joan Crawford . Clark Gable and Carole Lombard met at one of Whitney's parties. In the early 1930s, Jock Whitney began an affair with Nina Gore Vidal; simultaneously, his wife had an affair with Nina Vidal's husband Eugene Vidal . The couple divorced in 1940, but Liz Whitney remained at Llangollen for the rest of her life, becoming an internationally renowned horse breeder and

1935-615: Was still ambassador to the United Kingdom, his company Whitney Communications Corp. bought the New York Herald Tribune , and was its publisher from 1961 to its closure in 1966. He was chairman of the International Herald Tribune from 1966 until his death. Whitney Communications also owned and operated other newspapers, magazines and broadcasting stations. Whitney's television stations were sold to Dun & Bradstreet in 1969. Whitney invested in several Broadway shows, including Peter Arno 's 1931 revue Here Goes

1980-518: Was taken prisoner by the Germans in southern France, but escaped when the train transporting him to a POW camp came under Allied fire. Whitney inherited his family's love of horses, a predilection he shared with his sister, Joan Whitney Payson . Jock and his sister ran Greentree Stables in the U.S., owned by their mother. In 1928, he became the youngest member ever elected to The Jockey Club . Whitney and his first wife "Liz" raced horses both in

2025-585: Was the new home for the 6th Police Precinct of the Nassau County Police, located at the S/E intersection of Community Drive and East Community Drive. Just east of the 6th pct, at 2 E Community Dr., the M-LFD parcel was the new home of Fire Company #2 of the M-LFD, where John Hay Whitney was voted in by the membership of Company number two as an Honorary Member of the company. In 1930 Whitney was elected to

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