Henry Lehman

Not to be confused with Henry Lehmann.

Henry Lehman (born Hayum Lehmann; September 29, 1822 – November 17, 1855)^[1] was a German-born American businessman and the founder of Lehman Brothers, which grew from a cotton and fabrics shop during his life to become a large finance firm under his brothers' descendants.

Henry Lehman
Born	Hayum Lehmann September 29, 1822 Rimpar, Lower Franconia Kingdom of Bavaria
Died	November 17, 1855 (aged 33) New Orleans, Louisiana United States
Nationality	American
Other names	Hayum Lehmann
Occupation	Merchant
Known for	co-founder of Lehman Brothers
Spouse	Rosa Wolf
Children	Bertha Lehman Rosenheim Harriet Lehman Weil David Lehman Meyer H. Lehman
Relatives	Lehman family
Family	Mayer Lehman (brother) Emanuel Lehman (brother)

Life and work

Lehman was born under the name of Hayum Lehmann to a Jewish family,^[2] the son of Eva (Rosenheim) and Abraham Lehmann, a cattle merchant in the small Franconian town of Rimpar near Würzburg.^[3] Lehman emigrated to the United States in 1844, where he changed his name to Henry Lehman.^[4] He settled in Montgomery, Alabama, and opened a dry goods store named, "H. Lehman".^[5] In 1847, following the arrival of his younger brother Emanuel Lehman, the firm became, "H. Lehman and Bro." With the 1850 arrival of Mayer Lehman, the youngest brother, the firm became "Lehman Brothers".

In those years, cotton was the most important crop of the Southern United States. Capitalizing on cotton's extremely high market value around the world, the Lehman brothers became cotton factors, accepting cotton bales from customers as payment for their merchandise. They eventually began a second business as traders in cotton.^[5] The company directly dealt with cotton farmers. Lehman, particularly, presented himself as a friend to the farmers, who believed that the banks only lend money to merchants and middlemen.^[6] He bartered with skills that he learned from dealing with farmers in the Bavarian countryside and accepted cotton as payment for borrowed money.^[6] Within a few years, this became the major part of their firm. It was described as a very prosperous venture, running a very successful warehouse.^[7]

In 1855, Henry Lehman died from yellow fever while travelling in New Orleans.^[8] Later, his brothers moved the company's headquarters to New York City, eventually building it into an important American investment bank, which was in operation for over 150 years until its September 15, 2008, collapse.

References

1. "Henry Lehman"
2. Jewish Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook, (ABC-CLIO, 2002), By Rafael Medoff, page 333
3. Flade, Roland (1999). The Lehmans: From Rimpar to the New World : A Family History. ISBN 9783826018442.
4. Flade, Roland (1996). Die Lehmanns und die Rimparer Juden: zur Dauerausstellung im Rathaus Rimpar (in German). Königshausen & Neumann. p. 13. ISBN 3826012739.
6. Chapman, Peter (2010). The Last of the Imperious Rich: Lehman Brothers, 1844-2008. New York, NY: Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-44270-8.
7. Cohen, Michael R. (2017). Cotton Capitalists: American Jewish Entrepreneurship in the Reconstruction Era. New York: NYU Press. p. 1813. ISBN 978-1-4798-7970-0.
8. Witzel, Morgen (2015). Managing for Success: Spotting Danger Signals - And Fixing Problems Before They Happen. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4729-0496-6.