He initially worked in his cousin Richard Heckscher's coal mining operation as a laborer, studying English at night.

He started The Heckscher Foundation for Children and created playgrounds in lower Manhattan and in Central Park.

[3][5] August Heckscher died on April 26, 1941, in Mountain Lake, Florida[6][7] and left his widow $10,000 and all his real estate.

[3] No legatee could be found that was named in her will and the probate court declared an earlier copy of the will as valid.

[9] His grandson August Heckscher II (1913–1997), served as President John F. Kennedy's Special Consultant on the Arts, the first White House cultural adviser, 1962–1963, as well New York City Mayor John Lindsay's Parks Commissioner, 1967, amongst other highlights in a wide-ranging career and life.