Schiff, Jacob Henry, 1847–1920, American banker and philanthropist, b. Frankfurt, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1865 and became a partner in a brokerage house in New York City. At the age of 38 he was head of the banking house of Kuhn, Loeb and Company. Schiff became associated with E. H. Harriman in notable contests with the house of Morgan for control of Western railroads. His numerous philanthropies included the endowment of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Montefiore Home, both in New York, and a museum at Harvard.
See biographies by C. Adler (1928) and N. W. Cohen (1999).
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