Harvey Meyerhoff | |
|---|---|
 Meyerhoff in 1993 | |
| Born | (1927-04-06)April 6, 1927 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 2023(2023-08-06) (aged 96) |
| Education | University of Wisconsin |
| Occupations |
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| Children | 4 |
| Father | Joseph Meyerhoff |
Harvey Morton Meyerhoff (April 6, 1927 – August 6, 2023) was an American businessman, fundraiser, and philanthropist. He was a chairman of the trustees ofJohns Hopkins Hospital and the founding chairman of theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Meyerhoff was born in aJewish family on April 6, 1927, inBaltimore, Maryland. His father was building contractorJoseph Meyerhoff, who had immigrated to Baltimore from Russia in 1906;[1] he is the namesake of theBaltimore Symphony Orchestra's building,Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Meyerhoff graduated fromForest Park Senior High School in 1945,[2] then earned his college degree from theUniversity of Wisconsin in 1948.[3]
Meyerhoff served in theU.S. Navy for three years during and afterWorld War II. After returning home, he joined Monumental Properties, the family home building business.[1] Meyerhoff later became president of Magna Properties.[3]
On September 12, 1986, PresidentRonald Reagan appointed Meyerhoff to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, charged with designing and building theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The next year, he was appointed the commission's chair, serving until 1993.[4] The prior chairman wasElie Wiesel, but there were concerns as to whether he could raise the necessary funds, then design and supervise construction of the building. Meyerhoff successfully oversaw the museum's construction and raised the $150 million in private funds needed to build the museum on theNational Mall in Washington, D.C. Meyerhoff personally donated $6 million of his own money.[5]
The museum opened on-time and on-budget in 1993. The names of Meyerhoff, Wiesel, and PresidentBill Clinton are carved into the museum's cornerstone.[2]
Meyerhoff married Lyn Pancoe in 1948. They had four children and ten grandchildren.[4]
Meyerhoff owned a yacht namedThe Moose and collected glassware fromSteuben Glass Works.[2] He was also a minority owner of theBaltimore Orioles.
Meyerhoff died at his home in Baltimore County, Maryland, on August 6, 2023.
Meyerhoff helped to found theNational Aquarium in Baltimore (the largest tourism attraction in the state ofMaryland). He and his wife were benefactors of70 Faces Media.[1] In the 1980s, Meyerhoff was the vice chairman ofJohns Hopkins Hospital[3] and was a chairman emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.[2] Meyerhoff also helped fund the Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital.[5][6] Meyerhoff served on the advisory board of the U.S. English Foundation, an organization that advocated for making English the official language of the United States.[7]
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