Arthur J. Schmitt (14 June 1893 – 29 March 1971) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

engineer,

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

, entrepreneur and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. In 1932, he founded American Phenolic Corp (which became Amphenol) when he discovered that insulating plastic could effectively be used to produce tube sockets in a quicker and simpler method than using

Bakelite Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed ...

or ceramic. Under his leadership, Amphenol developed and manufactured equipment for radios, military equipment during World War II, and various industrial uses after the war. In 1941, the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation purchased the property that would become the Fournier Institute of Technology in

Lemont, IL Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,629 as of the 2020 census. The village is situated on a hillside along the south banks of ...

. The former seminary was converted into a two-year high school and a four-year college, with the goal of training engineers for service in World War II. The Fournier Institute of Technology opened in 1943, and college-level classes commenced in 1947. Due to low enrollment and rising operating costs, the institute graduated its last high school class in 1951, and its last college class in 1955.Fournier Institute of Technology records.
DePaul University Special Collections and Archives. Accessed 1 June 2017. DePaul University Special Collections and Archives holds a collection of historical and legal documents, correspondence, publications, and photographs related to the Fournier Institute of Technology, donated by the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation. The Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation continues to provide scholarships and fellowships at numerous Catholic-based universities in the Chicago and surrounding Great Lakes area, such as DePaul University and Saint Xavier University and the graduate schools at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

, University of Notre Dame, and Marquette University ( Milwaukee, WI). The Foundation also supports scholarships at a handful of high schools. Schmitt turned his financial success into significant philanthropic efforts that continue to propagate his

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

and ethical values.

References

1893 births 1971 deaths DePaul University Special Collections and Archives holdings 20th-century American philanthropists {{philanthropist-stub