David Morgenthaler
| David Morgenthaler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
David Turner Morgenthaler August 5, 1919 Chester, South Carolina |
| Died | June 17, 2016 (aged 96) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Venture capitalist |
| Known for | Founder of Morgenthaler Ventures |
| Spouse(s) | Lindsay Jordan Morgenthaler |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | Profile at Morgenthaler Ventures |
David Turner Morgenthaler (August 5, 1919 – June 17, 2016) was an American businessman who founded the venture capital firm Morgenthaler Ventures. He was also instrumental in helping change the U.S. capital gains tax rate from 49% to 28% in 1978 and amending ERISA legislation to allow pension funds to invest in venture capital in 1979.
Morgenthaler received a S.B. and S.M. in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1941. While attending MIT, he was elected Vice President—and later became President—of the Senior Class (1940). He was also President of Sigma Nu Fraternity (1938–39), Captain of the M.I.T. Swimming Team (1936–37), a member of Osiris, the senior honorary fraternity, and other class honorary societies.
On December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Morgenthaler was called to active duty in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Second Lieutenant in the 21st Aviation Engineer Regiment. He was promoted to Captain, commanding a line company in the North African campaign building airfields in French Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Subsequently, in Italy, he was promoted to command the Headquarters and Service Company of the regiment – one of the largest engineer units in the Mediterranean—and, in addition, was the Chief Technical Officer for the Area Engineer of Eastern Italy. Morgenthaler served as a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves until his discharge.
Morgenthaler married Lindsay Jordan in 1945 and had four children. He died on June 17, 2016 at the age of 96.
Following military service, Morgenthaler joined an entrepreneurial team in founding a startup company and, later, served in several other such companies. As Vice President and Director of Sales of Delavan Manufacturing Company, he helped build the largest manufacturer of jet engine fuel nozzles in the world. Following this, he was recruited by J.H. Whitney & Company, one of the two original American venture capital firms, as President and CEO of their investee company, Foseco, Inc., one of their investments. He built this into the largest manufacturer of exothermic chemicals for foundries and steel mills in the U.S., and subsequently merged the company with its British licensor. Following this, he became Chairman for North America and helped to build a multinational enterprise of 57 corporations, manufacturing in 22 countries and warehousing and selling in 75 countries.
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