Elmer Louis Winter (March 6, 1912 – October 22, 2009) was an American lawyer who co-founded the Manpower Inc. temporary

employment agency An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

in 1948, after his law firm encountered difficulties hiring secretarial assistance in an emergency. By the time of his death, the firm was the world's third-largest temporary staffing firm, with 400,000 clients served by 4,100 offices in 82 countries.

Early life and education

Winter was born on March 6, 1912, in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, where his immigrant father owned a clothing store.Martin, Douglas
"Elmer Winter, 97, Co-Founder of Manpower Temp Agency, Dies "
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', October 30, 2009. Accessed November 2, 2009. There he attended the local public schools, and graduated from Riverside High School in 1929.Silvers, Amy Rabideau; and Rornell, Rick
"Manpower co-founder Winter dies at 97"
'' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', October 23, 2009. Accessed November 2, 2009. He earned a degree in economics from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

and his law degree from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

Manpower

Aaron Scheinfeld, owner of a

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law firm, hired Winter in 1936 and Winter moved back to Milwaukee when the firm opened a new branch there. Unable to find a secretary available to type up a last-minute brief that had to be filed with the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

in April 1948, the two attorneys were only able to finish the work with the assistance of a former employee who worked all night typing. This experience led them to consider that there might be a business opportunity in providing temporary services to businesses that needed assistance. Despite the fact that almost all of their initial temps were women, they chose the name Manpower at the suggestion of a friend. They rented a Milwaukee storefront, offering bookkeepers, stenographers and typists to businesses as a sideline venture from their law firm. Though their first year was unprofitable, they were able to start making money in 1949. Manpower offered courses to help workers improve their skills on new technology and was the first to offer temporary staffing for industrial positions. Winter retired from the firm in 1976, but maintained an office at the company's headquarters where served as chairman of the firm's advisory council. He regularly drove into the office until three weeks before his death, where a sign on his desk read "Hang in there, Elmer".

Other work

Winter was national president of the American Jewish Committee in 1973–1977.

Death

A resident of Fox Point, Wisconsin, Winter died at age 97 on October 22, 2009, in

Mequon, Wisconsin Mequon () is the largest city in Ozaukee County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the third-largest city in Wisconsin by land area. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore with significant commercial developments along Interstate 43, the com ...

. He was survived by his second wife, the former Hope Melamed, as well as by three daughters, eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. His 54-year-long first marriage to the former Nannette Rosenberg ended with her death in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Elmer 1912 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews University of Wisconsin Law School alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Wisconsin lawyers People from Milwaukee People from Fox Point, Wisconsin 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American Jews American Jewish Committee