Harvey Meyerhoff

Meyerhoff was born on April 6, 1927, in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was real estate businessman Joseph Meyerhoff, who had immigrated to Baltimore from Russia in 1906.[1] Joseph is the namesake of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's building. Meyerhoff graduated from Forest Park Senior High School in 1945,[2] then earned his college degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1948.[3] He also served in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II. After returning home, he joined Monumental Properties, the family home building business.[1] Meyerhoff later became president of Magna Properties.[3]

On September 12, 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed Meyerhoff to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, charged with designing and building the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The next year, he was appointed the commission's chair, serving until 1993.[4] Meyerhoff oversaw the museum's construction and eventually raised the $150 million in private funds needed to build the museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Meyerhoff personally donated $6 million.[1] The museum opened on-time and on-budget in 1993, which was largely questioned under the previous chairmanship of Elie Wiesel. According to Meyerhoff's daughter, Meyerhoff's name, along with the names of Wiesel and President Bill Clinton, are carved into the museum's cornerstone.[2]

With President Bill Clinton, and Elie Wiesel at the dedication of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993

Meyerhoff married Lyn Pancoe in 1948. Among other philanthropic endeavors, the couple helped to found the National Aquarium in Baltimore and were benefactors of 70 Faces Media.[1] In the 1980s, Meyerhoff was the vice chairman of Johns Hopkins Hospital[3] and was a chair emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.[2] The Meyerhoffs helped to found the Baltimore Aquarium and the Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital.[5][6]

Meyerhoff served on the advisory board of U.S. English, an organization that advocated making English the official language of the United States.[7]

Meyerhoff owned a yacht named The Moose and collected glassware from Steuben Glass Works.[2] He was also a minority owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

Meyerhoff died in his home in Baltimore County, Maryland, on August 6, 2023. The Meyerhoffs had four children and ten grandchildren.[1]