From Western Springs to the Cover of Time Magazine

Although born in Chicago in 1891, Paul Hoffman’s family moved to Western Springs shortly after his birth. He grew up in the family home at 4142 Grove Avenue, which still stands today. See second photo. 

Paul’s father had enjoyed considerable success as the inventor of the steam radiator valve. But, Paul went to Grand Avenue School, just like all the other children in town. That’s him in the lower right corner of this school picture from the mid-1890’s. See third photo.

After finishing elementary school (there was no junior high in town yet), Paul went to Lyons Township High School in La Grange. In contrast to today’s enrollment, there were just 25 students in his entire class. While Paul looks studious in his 1907 graduation picture (see fourth photo), the yearbook described a humorous encounter between Paul and Miss Josephine Doniat, his foreign language teacher, who said, “Well, you are doing better, Paul. Today you have only yawned twice. Yesterday it was three times. I am sure you wouldn’t do that if you were entertaining a young lady.”

Despite this, Paul managed to graduate from Lyons Township in 1907 and enrolled at the University of Chicago. However, due to an economic downturn, Paul’s father was unable to keep him in college beyond his first year. As a result, Paul had to drop out and became a porter for a Chicago automobile dealer. Later, he moved to Los Angeles and took a job at a Studebaker automobile dealership.

Some might conclude that Paul’s future had taken a major turn for the worse. However, he soon became a star automobile salesman. He reportedly made his first million dollars by the age of 34 and purchased Studebaker’s Los Angeles branch. Shortly afterward, he was appointed Studebaker’s corporate vice president of sales.

In 1935, Paul became the company’s president and CEO. In this role, he was extremely successful, first saving the company from insolvency in the 1930’s, next overseeing Studebaker’s production efforts for the military during World War II, and then directing the company’s return to automobile sales after the war. See fifth photo.

In 1948, Hoffman, a Republican, was asked by President Harry Truman, a Democrat, to take a leave of absence from Studebaker to head up the post-War Committee for Economic Development, better known as the Marshall Plan. In that role, according to Time Magazine, he helped “… pluck 270 million people from the brink of chaos and despair”. Under his direction, the Marshall Plan directed $13.2 billion in aid to 17 war-ravaged nations in Europe, the equivalent of $127 billion in 2012 dollars.  

From 1950-1953, Hoffman also served as president of the Ford Foundation. Returning to Studebaker in 1953, he chaired the turbulent period leading up to the company’s merger with Packard Motor Car Company. From 1966 to 1972, Hoffman served as the administrator of the United Nations Development Program. And, in 1974, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Gerald Ford. See sixth photo.

Despite his busy schedule, Hoffman still found time to return to his roots. In 1957, the 50^th anniversary of his graduation from Lyons Township High School, he delivered the school’s commencement address. An author of several books concerning the importance of international relations and foreign aid, Hoffman died in 1974.