Michael Weyl ’37

Michael died of congestive heart failure March 19, 2011, in Washington, D.C. He was 93.

Michael was born in Zurich, Switzerland, the youngest son of the renowned German mathematician Hermann Weyl, and was educated in Zurich and Göttingen, Germany.

He entered Princeton at 16 without being able to speak a word of English. Michael studied German literature and devoted much of his free time to the theater, directing several plays at McCarter Theatre. Among the actors who worked with him was the future film star Mel Ferrer.

Michael graduated summa cum laude and landed a job as assistant to Oscar-winning film director William Dieterle, with whom he worked on the 1938 movie Blockade. Michael then attended the University of Wisconsin, where he earned a master’s degree in German literature and art history.

He married Margareta in 1942, enlisted in the Army, and was sent overseas in 1944 as an interrogation officer.

Following the war, Michael joined the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and brought his family to Copenhagen, where he was cultural attaché. He also served as chief policy officer for the Voice of America, and at the close of his foreign-service career, as a senior inspector for USIA.

Michael authored numerous articles on American art, culture, and education. Following his retirement in 1987, he was a study leader and lecturer for 15 Smithsonian Study Tours to Switzerland, Germany, and Japan, and a volunteer docent at the National Gallery of Art.

Michael was predeceased by Margareta. He is survived by sons Peter ’67, Thomas, and John Andrew; and two grandchildren.