James H. Roosevelt

Who was James H. Roosevelt?

James Henry Roosevelt was an American philanthropist who, by bequest, founded Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. He was born in New York on Warren Street near Broadway to Catherine and James Christopher Roosevelt, a grandson of Jacobus Roosevelt, the founder of the Hyde Park branch of the Roosevelt family. He was a third cousin of President Theodore Roosevelt's grandfather.

Roosevelt graduated from Columbia College in 1819 and studied law at Harvard University, but was unable to practice due to delicate health, possibly resulting from polio. Confined largely to his home he was forced to abandon his law practice and break off his engagement to Miss Julia Boardman. He lived off of a modest inheritance and expanded it through prudent investments and simple living.

He died in 1863, and his will left most of his estate, including property worth nearly $1 million, to found Roosevelt Hospital, which was opened on November 2, 1871.