Bayard Schieffelin

Bayard Schieffelin
Born	April 16, 1903 New York City, U.S.
Died	April 6, 1989(1989-04-06) (aged 85) Short Hills, New Jersey, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Businessman, philanthropist, government officer, librarian
Spouse	Virginia Langdon Loomis
Children	4
Parent	William Jay Schieffelin (father)
Relatives	John Jay (ancestor)
Awards	Legion of Merit

Bayard Schieffelin (New York City, April 16, 1903 – Short Hills, New Jersey, April 6, 1989), was an American businessman, philanthropist, officer in the War Department during World War II, and director of the New York Public Library (1950–1968).^[1]

Early life

Bayard Schieffelin was the third son of William Jay Schieffelin and Maria Louise Shepard Schieffelin. He was born in Manhattan and grew up in the house on 5 East 66th Street (the building is owned by the Lotos Club since 1947).^[1]

Through his paternal ancestors Bayard Schieffelin was a descendant of John Jay, and through his maternal ancestors he was a member of the Vanderbilt family. His first name, Bayard, reminds of John Jay’s grandma Anna Maria Bayard Jay. The Bayard family were Huguenots who had fled from France, first to the Netherlands, and then to New York. The Bayards and Jays fled their oppression as Protestants in France, following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV in 1685.^[1][2]

Personal life

Bayard Schieffelin married Virginia Langdon Loomis from New York in 1934. The couple had four children.^[1][3]

Virginia Langdon Loomis was the daughter of Edward Eugene Loomis and Julia Olivia Langdon Loomis.^[1]

Career

Bayard Schieffelin graduated from Groton School and from Yale University in 1926.^[1]

From 1939, Schieffelin worked on the finance board of Schieffelin & Co in Manhattan.^[1]

During World War II Schieffelin worked in the War Department in Washington, DC, and received the Legion of Merit award.^[1][4] Schieffelin served as an Administrative Officer with the rank of Lt. Col. under Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson in the War Department (1940–1945).^[5][6]

Schieffelin was Director of the New York Public Library from 1950 to 1968.^[1][4]

Committee work and social commitment

• Co-sponsor of the Langdon Schieffelin Fund for Bryn Mawr College in 1930^[1]
• Member of the Century Association (elected 1952)^[7]
• Trustee Vice President of Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey^[1][8]

References

1. Scheufele, Michael (2022). Jacob Scheuffelin, currently in Pennsylvania … Five Hundred Years of the Schieffelin Family. wbg Academic in Herder. pp. 170–172. ISBN 978-3534450060.
2. Jay, John. "John Jay Homestead • Historical Essays • Huguenot Ancestry". johnjayhomestead.org. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
3. "VIRGINIA L. LOOMIS TaBECOMEABRIDE; Her Engagement to Bayard Schieffelin Is Announced by Her Parents. FAMILIES ARE PROMINENT Bridegroom-Elect Is Descendant of John Jay and Commo- dore Vanderbilt". The New York Times. 1933-11-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
4. "Bayard Schieffelin, 85, An Ex-Library Official". The New York Times. 1989-04-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
5. "HyperWar: U.S. Government Manual--1945 [War Department]". www.ibiblio.org. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
6. Eiler, Keith E. (1998). Mobilizing America: Robert P. Patterson and the War Effort, 1940-1945. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801422768.
7. "Century Archives – The Century Association Archives Foundation". centuryarchives.org. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
8. "Robert College records, 1858-2018 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library | Columbia University Libraries Finding Aids". findingaids.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-15.