Henry Drinker

Portrait of Henry Sandwith Drinker (1901) by Cecilia Beaux.

Henry Sandwith Drinker, Jr. (September 15, 1880 – 1965) was an American lawyer and amateur musicologist. In 1964, the American Bar Association gave Drinker the American Bar Association Medal, stating that Drinker's monumental treatise Legal Ethics (Columbia U. Press 1953) was "recognized throughout the civilized world as the definitive treatise on this subject."[1]

Man with the Cat (Henry Drinker's father), 1898, by Cecilia Beaux

He graduated from Haverford College in 1900 with an AB, then earned the AB from Harvard University in 1901. He attended University of Pennsylvania Law School and Harvard Law School, earning his LLB in 1904 from Penn.[1] He began working for what became Drinker Biddle & Reath in 1904, becoming a partner in 1918.

He was a powerful Philadelphia lawyer who personified the elitism of the bar in the early twentieth century. As Chair of the ABA Committee on Professional Ethics he became a leading advocate of the Pennsylvania Preceptor Plan, a program designed to forbid lawyers from different ethnic backgrounds and lower social strata from admission to the bar.[2]

Music work

Though he was a successful lawyer, Drinker spent every minute of his spare time playing music, a passionate hobby that was as important to him as his real profession. Apart from active music-making, he devoted himself to the translation of the German text of vocal compositions of great composers into English. Among them are Schubert's songs and Haydn's Creation, and a variety of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, among others, the Christmas Oratorio, the St. John Passion and the St. Matthew Passion.[3] From 1912 to 1920, Drinker served as President of the Board of Managers of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[4]

All of his children had daily music lessons, and the whole family sat down together regularly to sing. They often visited musical events such as concerts, opera performances and music festivals, and were for 25 years subscribers to the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1928, the Drinkers built a new house, which contained a large music room where they regularly organized singing evenings, and sometimes they used the premises of the American Musicological Society for their gatherings.[3] Most well-known were their exclusive singing parties that were invitation only, and involved a dinner prepared by the Drinker household staff with group song and music before and after. Oftentimes these evenings involved the accompaniment of musicians invited from prestigious institutions, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and Curtis Institute.

As a lover of choral music, during World War II, Drinker intervened on the behalf of the von Trapp family when they were detained at Ellis Island due to visa issues, and again at later times.[5]

Personal life

Sophie and husband, Henry Sandwith Drinker by Cecilia Beaux

Henry was born to a prominent Quaker family in Philadelphia, the son of Henry Sturgis Drinker, who became president of Lehigh University. He had three brothers: Jim; Cecil, the founder of the Harvard School of Public Health; and Philip, inventor of the iron lung; and two sisters, Catherine and Ernesta.

He married the musician Sophie Drinker (born Sophie Lewis Hutchinson), then moved to Merion, Pennsylvania. The couple had five children together: Sophie, Henry S., Jr., Cecelia, Ernesta, and Pemberton.[3]

Legacy

His papers are in the University of Pennsylvania Law School archives.[6]

The Drinker House at Haverford College was renamed in his honor in 1961, when it was converted into the music department building and library. It is now used for student housing.

References

  1. 1 2 "Henry S. Drinker Receives the American Bar Association Medal". ABA Journal. 50: 942. October 1964.
  2. ↑ Zitrin, Richard; Langford, Carol M.; Tarr, Nina W. (2007), Legal Ethics in the Practice of Law 3rd. Ed. Newark, NJ. LexisNexis. p. 5
  3. 1 2 3 "Cultivating Music in America". Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Board of Managers". About:Board of Managers:Past Presidents. The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. ↑ About Us at Drinkerbiddle.com
  6. ↑ "Biddle Law Library: Manuscript Collections • Penn Law". Retrieved 21 December 2016.
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