John D. Hertz

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = John D. Hertz
caption = John Hertz, 1899
birth_date = birth date|1879|4|10
birth_place = Vrútky, Slovakia
death_date = death date|1961|10|8
death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
occupation = Businessman:
Taxis & rental cars
Racehorse owner/breeder
Philanthropist

John Daniel Hertz (April 10, 1879 - October 8, 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner, and philanthropist.

Biography

Born Sandor Herz in the village of Ruttka, Kingdom of Hungarycite book | last = Sawyers | first = June Skinner | authorlink = June Skinner Sawyers | title = Chicago Portraits | publisher = Loyola University Press | date = 1991 | location = Chicago | pages = 120-121 | isbn = 0829407006] , part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, today Slovakia, he emigrated to the United States when he was five.

As a young man, Hertz was an amateur boxer, fighting under the name "Dan Donnelly." He won amateur championships at the Chicago Athletic Association and eventually began to box under his own name and became the manager for Benny Yanger.

Business career

Hertz's first job was selling newspapers, and eventually he became a reporter for the "Chicago Morning News". When the paper, then called the "Chicago Record" merged with another paper, he lost his job. Although he couldn't drive, in 1904 he found a job selling cars at the suggestion of a friend. Because of the number of trade-ins, he came up with the idea of creating a cab company with low prices so the common man could afford to ride in them. In 1907, he had a fleet of seven used cars that he used as cabs.

He founded the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago in 1915 as a way to provide transportation at a modest price. In the early 20th century, livery services were limited to the upper parts of society and Hertz thought there was huge potential for someone to provide lower cost services. His distinctive yellow cabs became popular and he quickly franchised the operation throughout the United States. In 1924, he expanded the notion of cheaper transportation by acquiring a rental car business, renaming it Hertz Drive-Ur-Self Corporation. Ultimately, both operations were sold to General Motors with Hertz being named to GM's board of directors.

He married Fannie Kesner of Chicago with whom he had three children: Leona Jane, John Jr., and Helen. John Jr. became an advertising executive and was briefly married between 1942 and 1944 to film star Myrna Loy.

In 1933, Robert Lehman sold Hertz a minority interest in Lehman Brothers investment bank in New York City and he remained a member of the firm until his death. In 1938 Hertz was prepared to buy Eastern Air Lines from General Motors but the airline's General Manager, Eddie Rickenbacker, was able to raise the necessary financing to acquire Eastern before Hertz could exercise his option.

Thoroughbred horse racing

In his early business years in Chicago, Hertz owned a farm near Cary, Illinois. In the 1930s, he acquired a property in Woodland Hills, California in the San Fernando Valley where he raised thoroughbred racehorses. He purchased Stoner Creek Stud near Paris, Kentucky for breeding and training and two of his horses, Reigh Count and Count Fleet, went on to win the Kentucky Derby with Count Fleet winning the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.Citation | title = Golden opportunity | newspaper = Chicago Tribune Magazine | pages = 31 | year = 2007 | date = 2007-11-25]

Philanthropy

During the Cold War era, Hertz established the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation with the purpose of supporting military research. Friend Edward Teller urged Hertz to orient his foundation to fund education in the applied sciences. The Hertz Foundation fellowship program is administered primarily by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who are associated with the military's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense programs. For his significant contribution to the security of the United States, in 1958 he received the highest civilian award given by the Department of Defense.

In 1924, Hertz fronted the city of Chicago $34,000 to install the city's first traffic lights on Michigan Avenue.

Hertz died in 1961 and is interred with his wife in the Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago.

References