JOHN WILLIAM MIDDENDORF II (1924-2025)

An entire article could be written about Bill Middendorf's public service and the honors he received under five presidents (Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan). Another article could be written about his collections of paintings, prints and documents. He was so much more than these. He was a successful athlete, an accomplished artist, a prolific composer, a published author and a collector of coins and exonumia. I chose to feature his activities beyond his public service, which I find more interesting.

John William Middendorf II was born on September 22, 1924, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Henry Stump (1893-1972) and Sarah "Sally" Kennedy Boone (1902-1971) Middendorf. His father was an investment banker.

Ambassador Middendorf had a grandfather, uncle and cousin named John William Middendorf. In German families it is not unusual for all sons to be named John and be known by their middle names. The original John William Middendorf Sr. (1849-1928) had three brothers named John. He had twin sons John William Middendorf Jr. (1893-1973) and Henry Stump Middendorf (1893-1972). Henry's son became John William Middendorf II (1924-2025) and John's son became John William Middendorf III (1935- 1985). The ambassador's son was John William Middendorf IV (1959-2024).

The grandfather formed J. William Middendorf & Co. He was a well-known Baltimore banker and contemporary of the Garretts. Middendorf was one of the organizers of the Seaboard Air Line Railway and Garrett was with the Baltimore and Ohio. The uncle was also known as J. William Middendorf.

Bill began drawing at the age of four and studied art at the Middlesex School under Frank Benson of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was also on the school rowing team.

It was said that Bill could throw a baseball through a wall. In 1944, Middendorf was invited to a tryout as a pitcher for the New York Giants baseball team. He reported to Mel Ott on March 12, 1944. He left after a week to join the Navy.

Middendorf was enrolled in a NROTC program and played basketball at Holy Cross College. After graduation. he served as an engineering officer and navigator in the Navy during the Second World War 1944 to 1946 and was stationed in China.

Middendorf received a B. A. from Harvard College in 1947. While at Harvard. He took a fine arts class at the Fogg Museum. It kindled a growing interest in art and encouraged his sketching and watercolor. At Harvard he was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club and the Owls Club. He received an MBA from New York University in 1954. He was an investment banker with his firm of Middendorf, Colgate and Company.

He married Isabelle Jackson Paine (1930-2016) in 1953 and had five children. She was a granddaughter of William Alfred Paine and daughter of Francis Ward Paine with the firm of Paine Webber.

Throughout his life, he sketched people he met from presidents to world leaders and documented the growth of his children and grandchildren. He accumulated more than 10,000 drawings.

Bill was a judge at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. In 1963 he was on the U. S. Nationals Team for the World Championships of Men's Field Hockey at Lyon, France.

He was appointed by Richard Nixon as Ambassador to The Netherlands in 1969 and served until 1973. He then became Under Secretary of the Navy. He was promoted to Secretary of the Navy serving from 1973 to 1977.

While ambassador to The Netherlands in 1971. He studied with Somtow Sucharitkul to be a music composer. He wrote nocturnes and operas. He composed eight symphonies and more than eighty marches for Navy ships. One of these was the "J. William Middendorf March" to commemorate the naming of a destroyer in his honor.

{Smarty Pants question of the week, what presidential cabinet member wrote the Franklin D, Roosevelt March?]

While he was Secretary of the Navy, Middendorf announced the production of the Bicentennial medals to honor the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

Middendorf helped to promote the first Marine Corps Marathon in 1976 and presented the Middendorf Trophy to the winner. He completed the Marathon eight times with a best finish at 4:22. (I am not impressed. I completed three marathons faster than that.)

He collected American prints and European art on his travels. In 1967, The Met had an exhibit on "American Paintings and Historical Prints from the Middendorf Collection." Much of his collection was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. His name is carved in marble on a staircase at the Met.

Presidential Coin and Antique conducted a sale of The Ambassador J. William Middendorf, II Collection of exonumia on December 8. 1990. Middendorf had bought heavily at the David W. Dreyfus collection sale of April 12, 1986. The Dreyfus medals became the highlights of the Middendorf sale.

The first 41 lots were U. S. Mint medals. Lot 32 was a silver Washington Before Boston medal, one of five known (at the time) with four in private hands. At the Dreyfus sale the medal realized $18,150 and at the Middendorf sale it realized $17,500.

These were followed by Indian Peace medals, Hard Times Tokens, 19 th Century Merchant tokens, Civil War Tokens, Civil War Storecards, Sutler Tokens, Military. So-Called Dollars, and many other classifications. Many of the lots realized less than $100. The collection represented diversity but not high valuations.

This did not represent the full extent of his numismatic collections. On November 30, 1990, Christie's conducted a sale that included Greek coins from his collection.

Christie's offered 35 lots from the Middendorf collection of rare documents in their sale of January 21, 2021. A highlight was a John Dunlap broadside of the 1776 Declaration of Independence. It sold for $990,000.

In 2025, he was nominated for The Presidential Medal of Freedom. Middendorf died at Charleton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, Massachusetts, on October 24, 2025, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Providence Journal ran a two-page obituary on October 28, 2025, listing all the accomplishments I am leaving out. It did not mention his art collection, rare documents or numismatics.

If all goes well, we will have a new 100-year-old numismatist to announce next week.

To read the complete obituary, see:
J. William Middendorf II (https://www.providencejournal.com/obituaries/ppvp1314429)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web