Payne Whitney

Payne Whitney
Born	William Payne Whitney March 20, 1876 New York City
Died	May 25, 1927 (1927-05-26) (aged 51) Manhasset, New York
Education	Groton School
Alma mater	Yale University Harvard Law School
Occupation	Investor, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist
Spouse(s)	Helen Julia Hay (m. 1902; his death 1927)
Children	Joan Whitney John Hay Whitney
Parent(s)	William Collins Whitney Flora Payne
Relatives	Harry Payne Whitney (brother) Pauline Payne Whitney (sister) Dorothy Payne Whitney (sister) Oliver Hazard Payne (uncle)

William Payne Whitney (March 20, 1876 – May 25, 1927) was a wealthy American businessman and member of the influential Whitney family.

Early life

William Payne Whitney 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).^[1]

Whitney was educated at the Groton School. He attended Yale University, where he was a member of Skull and Bones,^[2]:171 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.^[3]

Career

In addition to a substantial inheritance from his father, Payne Whitney inherited $63,000,000 from his uncle, Col. Oliver Hazard Payne. Amongst his many investments, Whitney had major holdings in banking, tobacco, railroads, mining and oil. He was 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 the Northern Finance Corporation.^[3]

Equestrianism

A horse racing enthusiast in the tradition of his father and brother, Payne Whitney's Greentree Stable, named for their Long Island estate, was a very significant racing and breeding operation for thoroughbred horses.^[4]

Philanthropy

Throughout his life, Payne Whitney was involved in philanthropic work for a variety of causes. A trustee of the New York Public Library, in 1923 he gave 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.^[5] Upon his death he made a large bequest to establish the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.^[6]

Personal life

In 1902, Whitney married Helen Julia Hay (1875–1944),^[7] the daughter of then-United States Secretary of State (and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom) John Hay.^[8] 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:^[7]

• Joan Whitney (1903–1975),^[9] who was the first owner of the New York Mets Major League Baseball team.
• John Hay Whitney (1904–1982),^[10] who served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom^[11][12][13]

Whitney died in 1927 at his Greentree estate.^[3] His will bequeathed more than $20 million to the New York Hospital and smaller amounts to other educational and medical institutions. His estate funds contributed to the establishment of the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in 1932.^[14][6] Although he had contributed $1,000,000 to the Yale Endowment Fund shortly before his death, sufficient estate funds were also given to Yale to enable construction of the 9½ story Payne Whitney Gym that too was completed in 1932.^[15][16] As a tribute to him, a road in Manhasset was named after him, Payne Whitney Lane.

References