James Warburg
| James Paul Warburg | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 18, 1896 Free City of Hamburg (present-day Germany) |
| Died |
June 3, 1969 (aged 72) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Nationality | United States |
| Ethnicity | Jewish |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation | Banker and writer |
| Known for | Key member of Franklin Roosevelt brain trust |
| Spouse(s) |
Kay Swift (divorced) Phyllis Baldwin (divorced) Joan Melber |
| Children |
with Swift: --April Gagliano --Andrea Kaufman --Kay Levin with Melber: --James P. Warburg, Jr. --Jennifer Warburg --Philip Warburg --Sarah Bliumis Dunn |
| Parent(s) |
Nina Loeb Paul Warburg |
James Paul Warburg (August 18, 1896 – June 3, 1969) was a German-born American banker. He was well known for being the financial adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt. His father was banker Paul Warburg, member of the Warburg family and "father" of the Federal Reserve system. After World War II, Warburg helped organized the Society for the Prevention of World War III in support of the Morgenthau Plan.
Biography
Born in Hamburg, Germany, he was educated at Middlesex School and Harvard University. He served in the Navy Flying Corps during World War I before entering a career in business. He was at the First National Bank of Boston between 1919 and 1921. Between 1921 and 1929 he was Vice President at the International Acceptance Bank. He was president at the International Manhattan Company from 1929 to 1931, then president of the International Acceptance Bank from 1931 to 1932. He was Vice Chairman of the Board at Bank of the Manhattan Company between 1932 and 1935.
While at the Bank of the Manhattan, he became financial adviser to President Roosevelt. This included acting as financial adviser at the 1933 London World Economic Conference.
Warburg left government in 1934, having come to oppose certain policies of the New Deal. He was opposed to political non-interventionism, however, and re-entered government service in 1941 as Special Assistant to the Coordinator of Information, William Joseph Donovan. In 1942, when propaganda responsibilities were transferred to the Office of War Information, he became its Overseas Branch Deputy Director. After the end of the war, he wrote numerous books on U.S. foreign policy and was an outspoken advocate for nuclear disarmament. In 1963, along with Sears heir, Philip Stern, he helped to found the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies. Warburg was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He gained some notice in a February 17, 1950, appearance before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in which he said, "We shall have world government, whether or not we like it. The question is only whether world government will be achieved by consent or by conquest."[1]
Personal life
In 1918, Warburg married composer and musician Kay Swift. Swift was a Protestant and Warburg's uncle, Jacob Schiff, objected to the marriage.[2] They divorced in late 1934 as a consequence of her long involvement with George Gershwin. They had three daughters: April Gagliano, Andrea Kaufman, and Kay Levin. Warburg married his second wife, Phyllis Baldwin, in 1935. He and his third wife, Joan Melber, were married on September 6, 1948,[3] and had four children: James P., Jr., Jennifer, Philip, and Sarah Bliumis Dunn. Warburg is also the grandfather of novelist Katharine Weber.
Under the pseudonym Paul James he wrote the lyrics to Swift's 1929 hit song "Can't We Be Friends?" and their 1930 musical, Fine and Dandy, which introduced the song "Fine and Dandy".
References
- ↑ Senate Report (Senate Foreign Relations Committee) (1950). Revision of the United Nations Charter: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Eighty-First Congress. United States Government Printing Office. p. 494. Testimony on Wikisource
- ↑ Ohl, Vicki Fine and Dandy: The Life and Work of Kay Swift p 33
- ↑ Time Magazine: "Milestones, Sep. 6, 1948"
External links
- Biographical note at the John F. Kennedy Library
- Hell Bent for Election Warburg's Critique of FDR and the New Deal
- James Paul Warburg
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