Merle Thorpe, Jr. (1918 â February 13, 1994) was an American lawyer and philanthropist.
Thorpe was born in Washington, D.C., and attended the Sidwell Friends School, the St. Albans School â both in Washington â and the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. He then earned bachelor's and law degrees from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Thorpe served as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer during World War II.
After the war, Thorpe joined the Washington, D.C., law firm Hogan & Hartson, where he was a partner from 1956 to 1982.
Thorpe led a number of early shareholder's rights battles.
Thorpe took a trip to the Middle East with U.S. Senator William Fulbright in 1975 and afterwards Fulbright became a mentor to Thorpe about the region.
Thorpe's interest in the region led him to start the Foundation for Middle East Peace in 1979.
He died of cancer in 1994.