Carnegie Trustee Emeritus Robert Goelet Dies

Washington, D.C.—  Champion for wildlife conservation, arts, history and culture, and a Carnegie trustee from 1980 until 2014, Robert Guestier “Bobby” Goelet died at the age of 96 on October 8, 2019, at his home in New York.

Goelet devoted much of his time to civic causes. Among his various civic activities, Mr. Goelet was the board president of the French Institute/Alliance Française and a board member of the National Audubon Society, Phipps Houses, and Chemical Bank (now JPMorgan Chase).

Born in France in 1923, Goelet moved to New York when he was 12. He later graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in history. During his sophomore year at Harvard, he enlisted in the Navy and was trained as a Helldiver bomber pilot. In 1957 he became a director of Air America. In 1975, he was named president of the American Museum of Natural History. He had served in the same role at the New-York Historical Society and the New York Zoological Society (now the Wildlife Conservation Society). He was the museum’s chairman, until 1989, when he retired from the post.

Goelet joined the Carnegie board in 1980 and, with his passion for the natural sciences and his background in finance, served as a valuable member of the Research and Finance Committees.

Goelet is survived by his wife Alexandra Goelet and his two children.