Alan Horace Kempner (July 4, 1897 – December 17, 1985) was an American stockbroker, publishing executive, rare books and manuscripts collector, and philanthropist.

Early life and education

Kempner was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, before attending Columbia College, where he majored in Latin and graduated in 1917.

Career

Kempner worked at the American Zinc and Chemical Company for nine years, then purchased a seat on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

and became a partner in Byfield & Company. He served as a lieutenant in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and joined the United States Air Corps in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. His interest in books led him to join

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

as a manager and served on its board of directors after retirement.

Philanthropy

An avid book collector, Kempner held first edition books as well as manuscripts by

Giambattista Bodoni Giambattista Bodoni (, ; 16 February 1740 – 30 November 1813) was an Italian typographer, type-designer, compositor, printer, and publisher in Parma. He first took the type-designs of Pierre Simon Fournier as his exemplars, but afterwards bec ...

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian Classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric " ...

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

Agostino Giustiniani Agostino Giustiniani (born Pantaleone Giustiniani; 1470 - 1536) was an Italian Catholic bishop, linguist and geographer. Biography Giustiniani was born at Genoa into a noble Giustiniani family. His father had been ambassador of the Republic of ...

, and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

. His bookplate was designed by

Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English descent. He lived much of ...

. Over the years, he donated his manuscripts collection to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and the

Rare Book & Manuscript Library The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is principal repository for special collections of Columbia University. Located in New York City on the university's Morningside Heights campus, its collections span more than 4,000 years, from early Mesopotam ...

renamed the exhibition hall in his honor. He also endowed a professorship of biological sciences at Columbia, which was first held by noted biologist

James E. Darnell James Edwin Darnell Jr. (born September 9, 1930, Columbus, Mississippi) is an American biologist who made significant contributions to RNA processing and cytokine signaling and is author of the cell biology textbook ''Molecular Cell Biology''. ...

. He also served as the president and chairman of the

Hospital for Joint Diseases NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...

Personal life

Kempner married Margaret Loeb, the daughter of investment banker and founder of Loeb, Rhoades & Co., Carl M. Loeb, on June 1, 1920. The couple had three children: Alan Horace Kempner Jr., Carl Loeb Kempner, and Thomas Lenox Kempner, who married socialite and fashion icon

Nan Kempner Nan Kempner (July 24, 1930 – July 3, 2005) was a New York City socialite, reputed for her fashion sense and her philanthropy. Biography Born Nan Field Schlesinger in San Francisco, Kempner was the only child in a wealthy family. Her father, A ...

. His descendants bearing the Kempner name are still in charge of the successors to the Loeb, Rhoades & Co. investment firm and the Loeb family fortune. His grandson, Thomas Lenox Kempner Jr., co-founded the hedge fund

Davidson Kempner Capital Management Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (“Davidson Kempner”) is a global institutional alternative investment management firm with over $38 billion in assets under management. Davidson Kempner is headquartered in New York City, with additional ...

. His sister, Charlotte Kempner, married investment banker and founder of the

Bank of the West Bank of the West is an American financial institution headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. It is a subsidiary of the French international banking group BNP Paribas and has more than 600 branches and offices in the Midwes ...

, Sigmund Marshall Kempner, after he was divorced from Barbara Hazel Guggenheim, the daughter of

Benjamin Guggenheim Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman. He died aboard when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. His body was never recovered. Early life Guggenheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, t ...

and sister of

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempner, Alan H. 1897 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists American book and manuscript collectors Carl M. Loeb family Columbia College (New York) alumni People from Little Rock, Arkansas Philanthropists from Arkansas