Schiff, Jacob H

Schiff, Jacob H(enry)

(born , Jan. 10, 1847, Frankfurt am Main—died Sept. 25, 1920, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-born U.S. financier and philanthropist. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1865 and in 1875 joined the investment-banking firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. He succeeded his father-in-law as head of the firm in 1885 and became one of the leading railroad bankers in the U.S. He played a pivotal role in the reorganization of several transcontinental lines, notably the Union Pacific Railroad and the Northern Pacific Railway. During the Russo-Japanese War he sold Japanese bonds in the U.S., for which he was decorated by the emperor of Japan. His extensive philanthropies included large contributions to Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary.