Wertheim, Maurice

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WERTHEIM, MAURICE

WERTHEIM, MAURICE (1886–1950), U.S. banker. Born in New York, he was vice president and secretary of the United Cigar Manufacturers' Company from 1907 to 1913. In 1915 he joined the investment banking house of Hallgarten and Co., and in 1927 he established his own firm, Wertheim and Co. He served on the War Production Board and the Board of Economic Welfare during World War ii. He was a patron of art and education, and his financial contributions enabled the liberal journal The Nation to continue publication when it was in financial straits during the Depression. Wertheim was a founder of New York's Theater Guild and a member of the Harvard Fund Council. He was president of the *American Jewish Committee (1941–43) and played a prominent part in bringing together opposing forces in American Jewish communal life. He was the father of Barbara *Tuchman.

[Joachim O. Ronall]