Jeremiah Milbank (1887–1972) was an American philanthropist noted for his close friendship with President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

. His grandfather, also named Jeremiah (1818-1884), lived in New York City and in Greenwich, CT and was a dry goods merchant who became a partner in

Borden, Inc. Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in ...

, making a fortune in the condensed milk industry. Milbank founded the Institute for the Crippled and Disabled (later renamed the Institute for Career Development) in 1917 in collaboration with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

as a rehabilitation center for disabled World War I veterans. In 1928, Milbank organized the International Committee for the Study of Infantile Paralysis and later served on the original Board of Trustees of the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...

. Milbank served as a treasurer of the Republican National Committee, and often hosted Herbert Hoover on his yacht ''Saunterer'', including to celebrate

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

's 82nd birthday. He later joined Hoover in founding the

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, ...

and served as treasurer of the national organization for 25 years. His son, Jeremiah Milbank Jr., later served as chairman of the organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milbank, Jeremiah 1887 births 1972 deaths People from Manhattan 20th-century American businesspeople