Jacob H. Schiff and the Beginning of Biblical Archaeology in the United States

[...] scholars such as Naomi W. Cohen, Paul Ritterband, and Harold Wechsler have pointed to Schiff's Harvard involvements in their works on the American Jewish entry into higher education and the rise of American Jewish philanthropy.2 However, what is not well explained in existing scholarly accounts is the fact that Schiff's philanthropic involvement with archaeology in Palestine was unique at the time, and that the excavation he funded was also unique for American archaeologists. [...] Felix Warburg continued to contribute large sums to the American School until his death in 1937.65 Warburg's dual philanthropic relationships with The Hebrew University and with the American School, as well as family loyalty to Schiff's old pet project, inspired him to become involved with a new incarnation of the Samaria excavations beginning in 1931.