Adolf Berle
| Adolf A. Berle | |
|---|---|
Berle in 1965
|
|
| Chamberlain of New York City | |
|
In office 1934–1938 |
|
| Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs | |
|
In office March 5, 1938 – December 19, 1944 |
|
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| United States Ambassador to Brazil | |
|
In office January 30, 1945 – February 27, 1946 |
|
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Jefferson Caffery |
| Succeeded by | William D. Pawley |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr. January 27, 1895 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | February 17, 1971 (aged 76) New York City, New York |
| Spouse(s) | Beatrice Bishop (m. 1927–his death; 1971) |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Lawyer, diplomat, author, educator |
Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr. (/ˈbɜːrli/; January 27, 1895 – February 17, 1971) was a lawyer, educator, author, and U.S. diplomat. He was the author of The Modern Corporation and Private Property, a groundbreaking work on corporate governance, and an important member of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's "Brain Trust".
Berle was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Augusta (Wright) and Adolf Augustus Berle. He entered Harvard College at age 14, earning a bachelor's degree in 1913 and a master's in 1914. He then enrolled in Harvard Law School. In 1916, at age 21, he became the youngest graduate in the school's history.
Upon graduation Berle joined the US military. His first assignment as an intelligence officer was to assist in increasing sugar production in the Dominican Republic by working out property and contractual conflicts among rural landowners. Immediately after World War I, Berle became a member of the American delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, advocating for smaller nations' rights of self-determination. In 1919, Berle moved to New York City and became a member of the law firm of Berle, Berle and Brunner.
Berle became a professor of corporate law at Columbia Law School in 1927 and remained on the faculty until retiring in 1964. He is best known for his groundbreaking work in corporate governance thar he co-authored, with economist Gardiner Means, The Modern Corporation and Private Property]]. It is the most quoted text in corporate governance studies. Berle and Means showed that the means of production in the US economy were highly concentrated in the hands of the largest 200 corporations, and within the large corporations, managers controlled firms despite shareholders' formal ownership.
...
Wikipedia