Irving B. Harris
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Irving B. Harris (August 4, 1910 – September 25, 2004) was an American businessman and philanthropist. With his brother Neison, he co-founded the Toni Home Permanent Company, which was sold to the Gillette Safety Razor Co. in January 1948 for $12.6 million. The original Toni manufacturing facility was located in a former schoolhouse near
Forest Lake, Minnesota Forest Lake is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States, located 27 miles northeast of Saint Paul. The population was 20,611 at the 2020 census. The 2021 population is 20,608. History Forest Lake began as a stop on the St. Paul ...
.


Early life

Born and raised in
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
, Harris did much of his charitable work in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, but he also donated substantially to the arts in
Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...
. Harris contributed most of his money to programs for children and the arts such as the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance. He attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
and graduated
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
in 1931.


Philanthropy

In 1986, Harris gave a donation that established The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at The
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
. Mr. Harris gave the lead gift in 1954 to create public television station WTTW in Chicago - he later served as the station's Chairman of the Board. His philanthropy created several non-profits in Chicago - Family Focus (with Bernice Weissbourd) and the Ounce of Prevention Fund are "children" of Irving Harris, as is
Erikson Institute Erikson Institute is a graduate school in child development in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is named for the noted psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist, Erik Erikson. History and mission The Institute was founded in 1966 by four chil ...
, the graduate school in child development he helped found in 1966.


Personal life

Harris published a book, ''Children in Jeopardy,'' in 1996. Harris had a wife named Joan; two daughters, Roxanne Harris Frank and Virginia Harris Polsky, as well as a son, William Harris. Harris is also the grandfather of noted
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
restaurateur
Danny Meyer Daniel Meyer (born March 14, 1958) is a New York City restaurateur and the Founder & Executive Chairman of the Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Background and early career Meyer was born and raised in a reform Jewish family in St. Louis, ...
, son of Roxanne Harris Frank.


See also

*
Harris School of Public Policy The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, also referred to as "Harris Public Policy," is the public policy school of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located on the University's main campus in H ...
*
Pritzker family The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States of America (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since the ...
*
James Crown James Schine Crown (born June 25, 1953) is an American businessman and heir. He is president of Henry Crown and Company, a family investment company. He is a director of JPMorgan Chase & Co., General Dynamics and Sara Lee. He is also the mana ...
*
David G. Booth David Gilbert Booth (born 1946) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the executive chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors, which he co-founded with Rex Sinquefield. Career Booth graduated from Lawrence High School in ...


References


External links


The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Web site

Erikson Institute Web site

Irving Harris Bio

WHI Family Office Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Irving 1910 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Yale University alumni 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople