Dave Hennen Morris Explained

Dave Hennen Morris
United States Ambassador to Belgium and Envoy to Luxembourg
Term Start:	July 6, 1933
Term End:	May 5, 1937
President:	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Predecessor:	Hugh S. Gibson
Successor:	Hugh S. Gibson
Birth Date:	24 April 1872
Birth Place:	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Death Place:	New York City, U.S.
Residence:	19 E. 70th Street, New York
Education:	Harvard University Columbia University New York Law School
Occupation:	Lawyer, businessman, diplomat, racehorse owner
Party:	Democratic
Children:	Dave Hennen Jr., Louise, Lawrence, Noel, Emily, Alice
Parents:	John Albert Morris Cora Hennen

Dave Hennen Morris (April 24, 1872 – May 4, 1944) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and Thoroughbred racehorse owner who co-founded the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA).

Early life

Morris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 24, 1872. He was the son of John Albert Morris and Cora Hennen, the daughter of prominent New Orleans Judge Alfred Hennen. His father was descended from the colonial Morris family of Morrisania. His siblings included Alfred Hennen Morris (1864–1959), a vice-chairman and steward of the Jockey Club, and Frances Isabel Morris, who married Lewis Cass Ledyard (1851–1932), the prominent attorney.^[1]

He graduated, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1896, from New York Law School in 1901 and was admitted to the New York Bar. Later, he earned a master's degree in constitutional law from Columbia University in 1909.

Career

Following his father's death in 1895, Dave Morris inherited considerable wealth and held business interests in railroads, hotels, and other enterprises. He was vice-president of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co. (Cotton Belt Route).

From 1933 to 1937, he was appointed the United States Ambassador to Belgium and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Luxembourg by his friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt.^[2] During this joint appointment, he resided in Belgium, where he and his wife continued to make international contacts for the language that would later take the name Interlingua. He also was vice president of the Research Corporation and counselor of the Belgian-American Educational Foundation, where Ezra Clark Stillman was secretary.^[3]

Morris was a founder of the Aero Club of America and of the Automobile Club of America.^[4] Along with his wife Alice, he co-founded the International Auxiliary Language Association, which in 1951 would present Interlingua to the general public.^[5] He was treasurer of the IALA from its establishment in 1924 to his death in 1944. His son, Lawrence, then assumed the position.^[6]

Thoroughbred horse racing

His father was a prominent figure in Thoroughbred horse racing who owned Morris Park Racetrack in The Bronx, New York. Dave Morris and brother Alfred, a vice-chairman and steward of the Jockey Club, owned, bred, and raced a number of successful Thoroughbreds. Among their major racing wins were the 1898 Belmont Stakes with Bowling Brook, and the 1899 Kentucky Derby with Manuel.^[7]

Personal life

In 1895, Morris was married to Alice Vanderbilt Shepard (1874–1950). She was the daughter of Elliot Fitch Shepard (1833–1893), a lawyer, banker, and owner of the Mail and Express newspaper, as well as a founder and president of the New York State Bar Association, and Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt (1845–1924), who did not approve of her daughter marrying Morris. Alice was a granddaughter of William Henry Vanderbilt.^[8] Together, they were the parents of:

• Dave Hennen Morris Jr. (1900–1975), who married Alice Agnew in 1926.^{[9] [10]} They divorced and he married Mary Josephine Dority (1907–1979).^[9]
• Louise Morris (1901–1976),^[11] who married Dudley Holbrook Mills (1894–1987)^[12] in 1922.^[13]
• Lawrence Morris (1903–1967),^[14] who married Ruth Spafford Whittmeyer, daughter of Joseph H. Spafford, in 1953.^[15]
• Noel Morris (1904–1928), who died by suicide at the age of twenty-four in 1928.^[16]
• Emily Hammond Morris (1907–1995), who married Hamilton Hadley (1896–1975), son of Arthur T. Hadley, President of Yale University,^[17] in 1929.^[18]
• Alice Vanderbilt Morris (1911–1986),^[19] who married Walter Knight Sturges Jr. (1909–1992), an architect, in 1939.^[20]

Morris died at his home, 19 East 70th Street in Manhattan,^[21] on May 4, 1944.^[22] His widow died in Bar Harbor, Maine, in August 1950.^[23]

External links

• Union Mundial pro Interlingua

Notes and References

1. News: L. Cass Ledyard, Died Lawyer, Dies; Friend and Associate of the Elder J. P. Morgan Victim of Heart Disease at 80. Formed Big Corporations; Director on Many Boards Gave Large Sum to Charity Former Commodore of N. Y. Yacht Club.. 22 September 2017. The New York Times. January 28, 1932.
2. Web site: Dave Hennen Morris - People - Department History. history.state.gov. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State. 18 January 2018. en.
3. http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/ResMorrisDH.html Profile of Dave Hennen Morris at the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
4. Web site: David H. Morris Residence - New York City. www.nycago.org. The NYC Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. 18 January 2018.
5. Bray, Mary Connell [1951] (1971), "Foreword", Interlingua-English: A dictionary of the international Language, Second Edition, New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company. . OCLC 162319.
6. http://www.interlingua.com/historia/biographias/davemorris.htm Biographias: Dave Hennen Morris
7. DiBrino, Nicholas. The History of the Morris Park Racecourse and the Morris Family (1977) Bronx Historical Society
8. News: Not at the Wedding: Mrs. Shepard Disapproves Her Daughter's Marriage to Dave Hennen Morris. 18 January 2018. San Francisco Call. 21 June 1895.
9. News: Dave Morris Jr., Banker, 74, Dead. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 2 April 1975.
10. News: Alice Agnew Weds Dave H, Morris Jr'; Ceremony in Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, With Reception at Colony Club, Grace Church Choir Sings, Bride Wears Her Mother's Wedding Gown, Bridegroom's Sister Is Maid of Honor.. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. January 5, 1926.
11. News: Louise M. Mills, Leader in Girl Scouts, 74, Dies. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 21 October 1976.
12. Book: Princeton Alumni Weekly. 1987. Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton, New Jersey. 47. 18 January 2018. en.
13. News: Miss Morris Weds On Her Birthday; Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dave H. Morris, 21, Married to Dudley H. Mills by Rev. Dr. Coffin. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 9 November 1922.
14. News: Lawrence Morris Dead at 64; Lawyer Specialized in Trusts. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 25 November 1967.
15. News: Mrs. Whittmeyer is Wed; Becomes the Bride of Lawrence Morris, a Lawyer Here. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 1 February 1953.
16. News: Vanderbilt Scion Ends Life by Shot; Body of Noel Morris, 24, Son of Dave H. Morris, Is Found Locked in Bathroom. Dejected by 'Tannhauser' Philosophy Student Makes a 'Closing Entry' in Diary on Return From Opera.. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 2 November 1928.
17. News: Hamilton Hadley, a Utilities Lawyer. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 24 March 1975.
18. News: Emily Morris Weds Hamilton Hadley; Bride a Member of New York Family--Bridegroom Son of Yale's President Emeritus. Ceremony at Bar Harbor, Madeline Childress Is Married In Scarsdale to T. Edmund Beck-- Other Weddings.. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 14 July 1929.
19. Web site: Interlingua Institute records 1921-1990 [bulk 1930-1980]]. archives.nypl.org. New York Public Library. 18 January 2018. en.
20. News: Alice Vanderbilt Morris 2d. Is Wed to Walter K. Sturges. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 14 May 1939.
21. News: Dave H. Morris, 72, Lawyer, Diplomat; Ambassador to Belgium 1933-37 Dies--Sportsman, Musician, Friend of Roosevelt . 18 January 2018. The New York Times. May 5, 1944.
22. Milestones: Nov. 12, 1928 . . November 12, 1928 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091111172342/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,929048-2,00.html . November 11, 2009.
23. News: Mrs. Morris Dead; Envoy's Widow, 75; Member of Vanderbilt Family Aided Y.W.C.A. and Backed International Language Was Radcliffe Graduate Honored By Belgians. 18 January 2018. The New York Times. 16 August 1950.