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John Hertz, 1899

John Daniel Hertz (April 10, 1879 - 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner, and philanthropist.

Born Sandor Herz in the village of Sklabiňa, Slovakia[1], then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, later Czechoslovakia, he emigrated at a young age to the United States. He founded the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago in 1915 as a way to provide transportation at a modest price. In the early 20th Century, livery services were limited to the upper parts of society and Hertz thought there was huge potential for someone to provide lower cost services. His distinctive yellow cabs became popular and he quickly franchised the operation throughout the United States. In 1924, he expanded the notion of cheaper transportation by acquiring a rental car business, renaming it Hertz Drive-Ur-Self Corporation. Ultimately, both operations were sold to General Motors with Hertz being named to GM's board of directors.

He married Fannie Kesner of Chicago with whom he had three children: Leona Jane, John Jr., and Helen. Son, John Jr. became an advertising executive and was briefly married between 1942 and 1944 to film star Myrna Loy.

In 1933, Robert Lehman sold John Hertz a minority interest in Lehman Brothers investment bank in New York City and he remained a member of the firm until his death. In 1938 Hertz was prepared to buy Eastern Air Lines from General Motors but the airline's General Manager Eddie Rickenbacker was able to raise the necessary financing to acquire Eastern before Hertz could exercise his option.

In his early business years in Chicago, John D. Hertz owned a farm near Cary, Illinois. In the 1930s, he acquired a property in Woodland Hills, California in the San Fernando Valley where he raised thoroughbred racehorses. He purchased "Stoner Creek Stud" near Paris, Kentucky for breeding and training and two of his horses went on to win the Kentucky Derby. His first came with Reigh Count in 1928 then with his son, Count Fleet, who won the 1943 American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century, Count Fleet was ranked #5. Hertz was part of the American syndicate that purchased the English stallion Blenheim II who became an important American sire. In 1954 John Hertz published a book, "The Racing Memoirs of John Hertz as told to Evan Shipman."

During the Cold War era, Hertz established the "Fannie and John Hertz Foundation" with the purpose of supporting military research. Friend Edward Teller urged Hertz to orient his foundation to fund education in the applied sciences. The Hertz Foundation fellowship program is administered primarily by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who are associated with the military's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense programs. For his significant contribution to the security of the United States, in 1958 he received the highest civilian award given by the Department of Defense.

John Hertz died in 1961 and is interred with his wife in the Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago.