Francis Jay Underhill

Who was Francis Jay Underhill?

Francis Jay Underhill was an author, amateur musician, and American bond broker with two firms, Fisk & Robinson and later with J. & W. Seligman & Co., that played a leading role in the financing and construction of the Panama Canal. Owing to his commercial success, Underhill was a collector of art and musical instruments, including many engravings, etchings, and lithographs of noted European and American artists. Underhill was an amateur museum and came into possession of an Antonio Stradivari violin of 1732 called the "Red Diamond." Underhill was also 4th President of the Underhill Society of America.