In 1867, Heckscher immigrated to the United States. He initially worked in his cousin Richard Heckscher's coal mining operation as a laborer, studying English at night. Several years later he formed a partnership with his cousin under the name of Richard Heckscher & Company. The firm was eventually sold to the Reading Railroad. Heckscher then turned to zinc mining and organized the Zinc and Iron Company, becoming vice-president and general manager. In 1897, it was consolidated with other zinc and iron companies into the New Jersey Zinc Company with Heckscher serving as the general manager.
August Heckscher died on April 26, 1941, in Mountain Lake, Florida[6][7] and left his widow $10,000 and all his real estate.[8] She died on July 11, 1941.[3] No legatee could be found that was named in her will and the probate court declared an earlier copy of the will as valid.[9]
Descendants
His grandson August Heckscher II (1913–1997), served as President John F. Kennedy's Special Consultant on the Arts, the first White House cultural adviser, 1962–1963, as well New York City Mayor John Lindsay's Parks Commissioner, 1967, amongst other highlights in a wide-ranging career and life.[10]
^Pace, Eric (April 7, 1997). "August Heckscher, 83, Dies; Advocate for Parks and Arts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-25. August Heckscher, a Parks Commissioner under Mayor John V. Lindsay who was long active in public affairs and as a writer, died on Saturday at New York Hospital. He was 83 and lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The cause was heart failure, which he suffered after being admitted to the hospital because he had been having chest pains, his family said.
