George Joseph Hecht (November 1, 1895 – April 23, 1980) was the founder and publisher of ''

Parents A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

'' magazine and owner of

FAO Schwarz FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and store. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games. FAO Schwarz claims to be the oldest toy store in the United States, ...

. He is often credited with creating the parenting advice industry through his many publications.

Life and career

Hecht was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1895 in a home that once stood on the site of Radio City. He attended the

Ethical Culture School Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facul ...

and graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1917. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he became volunteer head of the financial department of New York's office of the American Ambulance Field Service and worked as a civilian for various war-related efforts, such as promoting the sale of

Liberty Bonds A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

and conducting research for the War Trade Board. He became head of the Bureau of Cartoons, encouraging cartoonists to publish work in support of the war effort, and he published a collection of war cartoons titled ''The War in Cartoons''. Although he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a private in 1918, he was not called to active service. After the war, Hecht edited ''Better Times'', a monthly social welfare publication, which he turned into an influential weekly representing two thousand private and public charitable agencies. In 1925, he organized the Welfare Council of New York City. In 1938, he became founding secretary of the Greater New York Fund, which eventually merged with

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of New York. Concerned about a lack of resources on parenting, Hecht received funding from the

Laura Spelman Rockefeller Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman Rockefeller (September 9, 1839 – March 12, 1915) was an American abolitionist, philanthropist, school teacher, and prominent member of the Rockefeller family. Her husband was Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rocke ...

Memorial Foundation to launch ''

'' magazine in September 1926. He asked Clara Savage Littledale multiple times to serve as the magazine's editor; she agreed in 1926 and would serve as editor until her death in 1956.Littledale, Clara Savage. Edited by Barbara Sicherman, 1934- and Carol Hurd Green, 1935-; in Notable American Women: The Modern Period (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980), 458-459 The magazine quickly became the most widely circulated magazine dedicated to parenting in the world, leading Hecht to launch a variety of other journals aimed at parents and children, including ''The Boy's and Girl's Newspaper'', ''Your New Baby'', ''

Children's Digest ''Children's Digest'' (originally ''The Children's Digest'') was a monthly children's magazine published in the United States from October 1950 to May/June 2009, after which it was merged with ''Jack and Jill''. The magazine was advertised as "se ...

'', and ''

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

'', which became the most popular children's magazine in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1963, Hecht expanded his interest in children and toys by having ''Parents'' magazine purchase

from the Schwarz family. He expanded the New York toy store nationwide by opening sixteen branches before selling the company in 1970. Hecht sponsored a training course for

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

impersonators at the toy store. Hecht served as chairman of

Child Welfare League of America The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that coordinates efforts for child welfare in the United States, and provides direct support to agencies that serve children and families. The organization's visio ...

, established and chaired the American Parents Committee in 1947, and chaired the National Committee on the Observance of

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...

. He advocated for various acts of federal legislation related to children and education, including the

National Defense Education Act The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was signed into law on September 2, 1958, providing funding to United States education institutions at all levels.Schwegler 1 NDEA was among many science initiatives implemented by President Dwight D. ...

of 1958. Hecht also philanthropically supported programs related to world population control. Hecht died in 1980 at the age of 84. He was named one of the "100 Most Notable Cornellians" in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecht, George J. 1895 births 1980 deaths Cornell University alumni Philanthropists from New York (state) American magazine publishers (people) Businesspeople from New York City 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople