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16-398: Frank and Helen Altschul created Overbrook to fund education causes including his alma mater, Yale University . Altschul was an early supporter of NPR . After Altschul's death in 1981, the foundation hired professional management under the stewardship of family members. The foundation provides grants averaging $ 40,000 to causes including human rights and environmental causes primarily in

32-525: A senior partner. Later he moved on again to General American Investors Company , and maintained his position as an executive until his retirement in 1961. He founded the private family office , Overbrook Management Corporation, to manage and protect the wealth and financial well-being of the Altschul Family. In 2002, the office opened its doors to provide asset management and related services to institutional investors and high net worth individuals. Over

48-772: The American Civil War . Mayer was listed as the owner of seven slaves ("three males and four females ranging in age from 5 to 50") in the U.S. Census of 1860 . In 1864, the Governor of Alabama , Thomas H. Watts , appointed Mayer as a Commissioner to visit and look after the interests of Alabama Confederate soldiers being held as prisoners of war in the North. Other offers of public position were made to him but he declined. In 1855, his brother Henry died from yellow fever while travelling in New Orleans . In 1867, Mayer and Emanuel moved

64-711: The English-Speaking Union, vice president of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation , and as vice president and secretary of the Council on Foreign Relations . Frank Altschul also maintained a family project, the Overbrook Foundation. In the summer of 1958, when author William L. Shirer was "flat broke" and desperate for funds that would permit him to finish writing The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich , at

80-583: The arrival of Mayer in 1850, it became Lehman Brothers . As cotton was the most important crop of the Southern United States and global demand led to profitable business, the Lehman brothers became cotton factors , accepting cotton bales from customers as payment for their merchandise. Cotton trading eventually became the main thrust of their business. Mayer Lehman supported the Southern cause during

96-458: The company's headquarters to New York City , leaving their New Orleans cotton operation (renamed Lehman, Newgass & Co ) in the hands of their brother-in-law Benjamin Newgass (father of British war hero Harold Newgass ). They eventually built their New York operation into an important American investment bank , which was in operation until its September 2008 collapse. Mayer Lehman was one of

112-717: The firm as one of five partners. In the 1920s, he was awarded the Legion of Honor by the government of France after giving successful advice on how to stabilize the French franc. In the 1930s, he was part of the committee that governs the New York Stock Exchange before moving on to work with the Chase National Bank . In 1934, he established Overbrook Press which specialized in illustrated, limited edition books for collectors. In 1943, Altschul began working with Lazard Freres as

128-595: The organizers of the New York Cotton Exchange , the oldest commodities exchange in New York City, and served as its director. Mayer Lehman concentrated on the railroad, land, industrial and mining enterprises of the business. He served as the director of The Hamilton Bank, The American Cotton Oil Company, The Union Oil Company of Providence, Rhode Island , and The N.K. Fairbank Company of Chicago . Mayer Lehman took an active interest in philanthropic work and

144-746: The recommendation of Hamilton Fish Armstrong the Overbrook Foundation advanced immediately to Shirer $ 5,000 ($ 52,500 in 2024 dollars) and promised another $ 5,000 six months later, enabling Shirer to finish his monumental book. In the third volume of his autobiography, Shirer writes: "This saved my life and my book . . . and I settled back to fourteen hours a day of writing." He was married to Helen Lehman Goodhart, granddaughter of Mayer Lehman , niece of Herbert H. Lehman , former United States Senator and Governor of New York (who his sister Edith married), and sister to Arthur Lehman Goodhart . They had three children: Margaret Lang (married to journalist Daniel Lang ), Edith Graham, and Arthur G. Altschul . Altschul

160-485: The religious holidays, frowned on many other religious traditions and practices, instead focusing on educating their children in language, history and culture. The one tradition that Mayer emphasized was the Jewish tradition of tsedaka or the joy of giving. In order to instill the importance of charity into his children, Mayer would take his three youngest — Arthur, Irving and Herbert — to Mount Sinai Hospital every Sunday to see

176-808: The western hemisphere. The foundation supports, for example, In Our Backyard, a crowdfunder of New York City environmental projects. In 2015, Overbrook joined with like-minded foundations including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund , the Ford Foundation , the Carnegie Corporation of New York , and the Turner Foundation to decry corporate contributions to political causes in the wake of the Citizens United v. FEC case. Frank Altschul Frank Altschul (April 21, 1887 – May 29, 1981)

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192-578: The years, Overbrook's leadership passed to his son, Arthur Altschul , and then to his grandson, Arthur Goodhart Altschul Jr, who currently serves as Overbrook's Chairman. In 1924, Altschul co-founded the Yale Library Associates, which was responsible for overseeing Yale libraries. Between 1961 and 1964, he also made financial contributions to various colleges and universities to establish professorships, including his alma mater Yale University and Williams College . Altschul served as director of

208-446: Was a registered Republican who served twice as a Connecticut delegate to his party's national conventions; although he supported Adlai Stevenson II in his 1952 Presidential race against Dwight D. Eisenhower . Mayer Lehman Mayer Lehman (January 9, 1830 – June 21, 1897) was an American businessman, banker, and philanthropist. He was one of the three founding brothers of the investment bank Lehman Brothers . Mayer Lehman

224-552: Was a trustee of Temple Emanu-El as well as a generous giver to the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He was also a member of the Harmonie Club . In 1858, Mayer Lehman married Babetta Newgass, the daughter of Isaac Newgass. Her sister, Esther, was married to banker Isaias W. Hellman . Together they had eight children of which seven survived childhood: The couple were Reform Jews who, although they always observed

240-1007: Was an American financier at General American Investors Company , and founder of the Overbrook Management Corporation. Altschul was born to a Jewish family in San Francisco , the son of Camilla (née Mandlebaum) and Charles Altschul. His father had immigrated to the United States from London in 1877 and was the eighth employee of the San Francisco bank Lazard Freres . In 1901, the Altschul family moved to New York City. In 1908, Altschul graduated from Yale University . He joined Lazard Freres in 1908 and served in France as an Army captain during World War I. In 1916, his father retired as partner at Lazard and Altschul took his place in

256-604: Was born in 1830 to a German Jewish family in the small Franconian town of Rimpar near Würzburg . He was the son of Eva (Rosenheim) and a cattle merchant, Abraham Löw Lehmann. In 1850, Mayer emigrated to the United States, joining his brothers, Henry Lehman (b. 1822) and Emanuel Lehman in Montgomery , Alabama . His brother Henry had left Germany in 1844 and opened a dry goods store named "H. Lehman". His brother Emanuel left Germany in 1847 and joined Henry in his business endeavor, which they renamed "H. Lehman and Bro." With

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