Benjamin Harrison Swig (born November 17, 1893 - October 31, 1980) was a real estate developer and a philanthropist active in Jewish and non-Jewish communities.

Biography

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount ...

-born Benjamin Swig was the son of banker and politician Simon Swig and the father of

Melvin Swig Melvin Morse Swig (July 31, 1917 – May 14, 1993)

. After Simon died, Benjamin became treasurer of the Tremont Trust Company in Boston. From 1925 to 1945, Benjamin Swig was a real estate operator. He was a partner of the real estate firm Swig, Weiler and Arnow that was founded in 1936, which became the Swig company. In the 1940s, he moved to San Francisco, which he loved. He bought the Fairmont Hotel in 1945, and later the

St. Francis Hotel The Westin St. Francis, formerly known as St. Francis Hotel, is a hotel located on Powell and Geary Streets on Union Square, San Francisco, California. The two 12-story south wings of the hotel were built in 1904, and the double-width north wing ...

. In 1956, he purchased the Mission Inn in

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. He sold 1,000 artworks and artifacts from the hotel to revitalize its finances to no avail. In the early 1970s, the troubled elections at the

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

led the students to picket the Fairmont Hotel to protest against Benjamin Swig, who also served as SCU's Chairman of the board of trustees. After Swig repeatedly petitioned in his favor, the City of San Francisco granted the Key of the City to

Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...

in 1973. In 1977, his son Melvin created the Mae and Benjamin Swig Chair in Judaic Studies at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

, the first ever Jewish Studies chair and program at a Catholic university worldwide.

Other tenures

* Member of the Board of directors of the American Joint Distribution Committee * Member of the national Boards of the United Jewish Appeal * Member of the Israel Bond Organization * Member of the American Jewish Committee * Member of the Zionist Organization of America * Member of the Jewish Welfare Board * Member of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Awards and recognition

* Knighted twice by the Vatican * Outstanding Civilian Service Medal

Personal life

Benjamin Swig was married to Mae Aronovitz.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swig, Benjamin Harrison American real estate businesspeople Real estate and property developers Jewish American philanthropists 1893 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists Swig family 20th-century American Jews