Britannic majesties visit Washington, DC

Henry Morgenthau, Jr. was born on May 11, 1891 in New York, NY, and was raised in a secular German Jewish family. His father, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., was appointed Wilson’s ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, 1913-1916, and Henry Jr. visited his father in Istanbul. Though Henry attended Cornell University, he did not graduate but instead bought a large farm in Dutchess County, NY, near the home of Franklin Roosevelt. The two men became friends. In 1916, Henry met and married Elinor Fatman; the couple had three children: Henry III (b. 1917), Robert (b. 1919), and Joan (1922-2012). Henry intended to make a living as a farmer, and also published the American Agriculturalist magazine. When Roosevelt was elected governor, Henry was appointed to an agricultural advisory committee. In 1934, Morgenthau was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Treasury under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was largely responsible for the creation of the War Refugee Board in January 1944. After Morgenthau's resignation in July 1945, he became more heavily involved in Jewish affairs. He became General Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal and was a financial advisor to the newly-created state of Israel. “Tal Shahar,” an agricultural community near Jerusalem, was named in his honor. After Elinor’s death in 1949, Morgenthau married Marcelle Morgenthau in 1952. He passed away in 1967. Learn more about the Morgenthau family from the feature documentary "Morgenthau" (2014) at http://watch.thirteen.org/video/2365250608/.