Jerome Davis Greene
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Jerome Davis Greene (October 12, 1874March 29, 1959) was an American banker and a trustee to several major organizations and trusts including the
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...
and the Rockefeller Foundation.


Family

Greene was born in
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
, Japan to missionary parents Mary Jane Forbes and the Rev.
Daniel Crosby Greene Daniel Crosby Greene, (1843–1913) was an American missionary of Christianity to Japan. Life Daniel was the son of the Rev. David and Mary (Evarts) Greene, and was born February 11, 1843, at Roxbury, Massachusetts. Immediately after graduating ...
. He was also the brother of diplomat
Roger Sherman Greene II Roger Sherman Greene (1881–1947) was a diplomat, foundation official, medical administrator in China and a national leader in affairs relating to East Asia. He was the fourth son and sixth of eight children of Rev. Daniel Crosby Greene, a Con ...
, the nephew of famed historian
Evarts Boutell Greene Evarts Boutell Greene (1870–1947) was an American historian, born in Kobe, Japan, where his parents were missionaries. He graduated Harvard University (B.A., 1890; Ph.D., 1893), and began teaching American history (1894) at the University of Ill ...
, and his grandmother was the sister of former US Senator,
US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
, and
US Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
William Maxwell Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a lit ...
. The great-nephew of US Senator
George Frisbie Hoar George Frisbie Hoar (August 29, 1826 – September 30, 1904) was an American attorney and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1877 to 1904. He belonged to an extended family that became politically prominen ...
, US Senator and Connecticut Governor
Roger Sherman Baldwin Roger Sherman Baldwin (January 4, 1793 – February 19, 1863) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Connecticut from 1844 to 1846 and a United States senator from 1847 to 1851. As a lawyer, his career was most notable ...
, US Attorney General and Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (February 21, 1816 – January 31, 1895) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist from Massachusetts. He served as U.S. Attorney General from 1869 to 1870, and was the first head of the newly created Department of Ju ...
, as well as the nephew of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Washington Territory, Justice
Roger Sherman Greene Roger Sherman Greene (December 14, 1840 – February, 17, 1930) was a United States lawyer, judge, politician and military officer. Early life Greene was a descendant of many of the distinguished families of the Atlantic states. On the mat ...
.


Early years

Greene graduated from Harvard College by 1897 and became secretary to
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
's president and the Harvard Corporation from 1901-1910. This gave him contacts with Wall Street which made him general manager of the Rockefeller Institute from 1910-1912. Later, Greene became an assistant to
John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
in philanthropic work for two years, then trustee to the Rockefeller Institute, to the Rockefeller Foundation, and finally to the Rockefeller
General Education Board The General Education Board was a private organization which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States, and to help rural white and black schools in the South, as well as modernize farming practices ...
until 1939. For fifteen years (1917-1932) he worked for the Boston
investment bank Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
ing firm of
Lee, Higginson & Co Lee, Higginson & Co. was a Boston-based investment bank established in 1848 that was the home of many members of the Boston Brahmin establishment. The bank collapsed in the Swedish match scandal in 1932 while under the leadership of Jerome Davis ...
; most of those years serving as its chief executive officer, as well as with its London branch. He was executive secretary of the American section of the
Allied Maritime Transport Council The Allied Maritime Transport Council (AMTC) was an international agency created during World War I to coordinate shipping between the allied powers of France, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States. The council (based in London) was formed at ...
stationed in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
1918. He lived in Toynbee Hall, the world's first settlement house. This brought him in contact with the Round Table Group in England, a contact which was strengthened in 1919 when he became secretary to the Reparations Commission at the Paris Peace Conference. Accordingly, on his return to the United States he was one of the early figures in the establishment of the Council on Foreign Relations which served as the New York branch of the
Lionel Curtis Lionel George Curtis CH (1872–1955) was a British official and author. He advocated British Empire Federalism and, late in life, a world state. His ideas concerning dyarchy were important in the development of the Government of India Ac ...
Institute of International Affairs. As an investment banker, Greene is mainly remembered for his sales of millions of dollars of the fraudulent securities of the Swedish match king,
Ivar Kreuger Ivar Kreuger (; 2 March 1880 – 12 March 1932) was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. In 1908, he co-founded the construction company Kreuger & Toll Byggnads AB, which specialized in new building techniques. B ...
. That Greene offered these to the American investing public in good faith is evident from the fact that he put a substantial part of his own fortune in the same investments. As a consequence, Kreuger's suicide in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in April 1932 left Greene with little money and no job. He wrote to Lionel Curtis asking for help and was given, for two years, a professorship in international relations at Aberystwyth,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. The Round Table Group controlled the professorship from its founding by David Davies in 1919, though Davies had broken with the Round Table because of its subversion of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
and European collective security. On his return to America in 1934, Greene also returned to his secretaryship of the Harvard Corporation and became, for the remainder of his life, a trustee and officer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the
Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was foun ...
in Fenway Court, the
New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...
, the
American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...
, the
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...
, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the General Education Board (only until 1939). He was also the director of the Harvard University's year-long 1936 wikt:Tercentenary Celebration. Greene is of much greater significance in indicating the real influences within the
Institute of Pacific Relations The Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) was an international NGO established in 1925 to provide a forum for discussion of problems and relations between nations of the Pacific Rim. The International Secretariat, the center of most IPR activity o ...
than any Communists or fellow travelers. He wrote the constitution for the IPR in 1916. For years he was the chief conduit for Wall Street funds and influence into the organization. Additionally, Greene was treasurer of the American Council for three years and chairman for three more, as well as chairman of the International Council for four years.


Round table

He became involved with the Round Table Groups, which were semi-secret discussion and lobbying groups organized by
Lionel Curtis Lionel George Curtis CH (1872–1955) was a British official and author. He advocated British Empire Federalism and, late in life, a world state. His ideas concerning dyarchy were important in the development of the Government of India Ac ...
, Philip Henry Kerr (Lord Lothian), and (Sir) William S. Marris in 1908-1911. This was done on behalf of
Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From ...
, the dominant Trustee of the
Rhodes Trust Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is listed Grade II* ...
in the two decades 1905-1925. The original purpose of these groups was to seek to federate the English-speaking world along lines laid down by Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902) and William T. Stead (1849-1912), and the money for the organizational work came originally from the Rhodes Trust. By 1915 Round Table groups existed in seven countries, including
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, Australia,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and a rather loosely organized group in the United States (
George Louis Beer George Louis Beer (July 26, 1872 – March 15, 1920) was a renowned American historian of the "Imperial school". Early life and education Born in Staten Island, New York, to an affluent family that was prominent in New York's German-Jewish ...
,
Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the te ...
, Frank Aydelotte,
Whitney Shepardson Whitney Hart Shepardson (October 30, 1890 – May 29, 1966) was an American businessman and foreign policy expert. He headed the Secret Intelligence Branch of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Shepardson was born in Worcester, ...
, Thomas W. Lamont, Erwin D. Canham of the
Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...
, and others). The attitudes of the various groups were coordinated by frequent visits and discussions and by a well-informed and totally anonymous quarterly magazine,
The Round Table Journal ''The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs'' is an international relations journal established in 1910 relating to the Commonwealth of Nations. History The journal was established in 1910 as an off-shoot of the Round Tab ...
, whose first issue, largely written by Philip Kerr, appeared in November 1910. The leaders of this group were: Milner, until his death in 1925, followed by Curtis (1872-1955), Robert H, (Lord) Brand '' (brother -in-law of
Lady Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...
)'' until his death in 1963, and now Adam D. Marris, son of Sir William and Brand's successor as managing director of
Lazard Frères Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's ...
bank. The original intention had been to have collegial leadership, but Milner was too secretive and headstrong to share the role. He did so only in the period 1913-1919 when he held regular meetings with some of his closest friends to coordinate their activities as a pressure group in the struggle with Wilhelmine Germany. This they called their ''"Ginger Group."'' After Milner's death in 1925, the leadership was largely shared by the survivors of Milner's ''"Kindergarten,"'' that is, the group of young Oxford men whom he used as civil servants in his reconstruction of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in 1901-1910. Brand was the last survivor of the ''"Kindergarten"''; since his death, the greatly reduced activities of the organization have been exercised largely through the Editorial Committee of The Round Table magazine under Adam Marris. Money for the widely ramified activities of this organization came originally from the associates and followers of Cecil Rhodes, chiefly from the Rhodes Trust itself, and from wealthy associates such as the Beit brothers, from Sir Abe Bailey, and ''(after 1915)'' from the
Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled ...
. Since 1925 there have been substantial contributions from wealthy individuals and from foundations and firms associated with the international banking fraternity, especially the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust and other organizations associated with
J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
, the
Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller f ...
and
Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...
families, and the associates of Lazard Frères and of Morgan, Grenfell & Company.


Summary of positions

Jerome Davis Greene was a partner in Lee, Higginson & Co., Secretary to the Corporation,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, 1905-1910 & 1934-1943; Joint Secretary of the Reparations Committee at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919; Secretary and Trustee, the Rockefeller Foundation, 1913-17 & 1928-1939; Chairman, Council Institute of Pacific Relations, (1929–32); a Trustee, the
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...
of Washington D.C., 1928-1945.


References


External links


History of the Department of International PoliticsHarvard University. Tercentenary Celebration OfficeThe Rockefeller Foundation TimelineHistoric Photographs, LLC Photo: Jerome Davis Greene,1874-1959, American Banker,Trustee to Rockefeller Foundation
WorldCat IdentitiesRockefeller Foundation 1915 Annual ReportJerome Davis Greene is appointed the third Woodrow Wilson Chair of International PoliticsThe Half Open DoorFind A Grave MemorialRockefeller FoundationObit Harvard Crimson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Jerome Davis American bankers
American lawyers Rockefeller Foundation people Harvard College alumni 1874 births 1959 deaths