Adolph William Schmidt

1904 - 2000

BiographyA financial and foundation executive and native of McKeesport, Pa., Adolph William Schmidt graduated from Princeton University and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He was Vice President and Governor of T. Mellon and Sons, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, President of The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, and a Trustee and Treasurer of the Old Dominion Foundation. He married Helen “Patsy” Mellon (great-granddaughter of Thomas Mellon) in 1936.

In World War II, Schmidt served as an intelligence officer with the Army and OSS in Africa and Europe from 1942 until 1946, and was discharged as Lieutenant Colonel. He was awarded the Bronze Star and two battle stars.

The Pittsburgh Press cited Adolph William Schmidt as one of the key men in Pittsburgh's renaissance while he was Chairman of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the organization that sparked much of Pittsburgh's redevelopment program. Schmidt served as an officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Pittsburgh Regional Planning Association, and was a member of the Pennsylvania State Planning Board since 1955.

A staunch advocate of liberal education, Schmidt served as Chairman of the Board of Visitors and Governors of St. John's College, Annapolis, Md., and as a member of the Alumni Council of Princeton University.