Benno C. Schmidt, Sr.

Benno C. Schmidt, Sr. (January 10, 1913 – October 21, 1999) was an American lawyer and venture capitalist who was active in New York City civic affairs and played an important role in the initiation of the War on Cancer. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03EFD81139F931A15753C1A96F958260 Benno C. Schmidt, Financier, Is Dead at 86] , "The New York Times", October 22, 1999]

Born in Abilene, Texas, Schmidt was educated at the University of Texas, where he received both his A.B. and L.L.B. degrees in 1936. At Texas he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In 1946 he became a partner and in 1959 the managing partner in Jock Whitney's venture capital firm J.H. Whitney & Co. [ [http://www.smokershistory.com/Schmidt.htm The Benno C. Schmidt Page] , Smokershistory.com website.]

Schmidt is credited with coining the term "venture capital" to describe the area of providing early or "seed" capital to aspiring entrepreneurs. [Charles D. Ellis and James R. Vertin, "Wall Street People: True Stories of Today's Masters and Moguls" 2001, John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 0471238090. page 37. ] The term was a shortening of the word "adventure". Schmidt's successful initiatives at J.H. Whitney & Co. included acquiring an early stake in Minute Maid orange juice.

Schmidt, Sr., served on the boards of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and CBS, among others. He was a trustee of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Schmidt had five sons, including Benno C. Schmidt, Jr., who was President of Yale University and Dean of Columbia Law School.

Schmidt died from heart failure in October 1999 at the age of 86. [http://www.stbernards.org/newslet/no26_p21.html St. Bernard's School Newsletter, No. 26, Winter 2001, page 21] ]

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