Harvey Morton Meyerhoff (April 6, 1927 – August 6, 2023) was an American businessman, fundraiser, and philanthropist. He was a chairman of the trustees of Johns Hopkins Hospital and the founding chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Meyerhoff served in the U.S. Navy for three years during and after World War II. After returning home, he joined Monumental Properties, the family home building business.[1] Meyerhoff later became president of Magna Properties.[3]
With President Bill Clinton, and Elie Wiesel at the dedication of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993
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] The prior chairman was Elie Wiesel, but there were concerns as to whether he could raise the necessary funds, then design and supervise construction of the building. Meyerhoff successfully oversaw the museum's construction and 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 of his own money.[5]
The museum opened on-time and on-budget in 1993. The names of Meyerhoff, Wiesel, and President Bill Clinton are carved into the museum's cornerstone.[2]
Meyerhoff helped to found the National Aquarium in Baltimore (the largest tourism attraction in the state of Maryland). He and his wife were benefactors of 70 Faces Media.[1] In the 1980s, Meyerhoff was the vice chairman of Johns Hopkins Hospital[3] and was a chairman emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.[2] Meyerhoff also helped fund the Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital.[5][6] Meyerhoff served on the advisory board of the U.S. English Foundation, an organization that advocated for making English the official language of the United States.[7]
