Joseph Leon Buttenwieser (1865–1938) was an American lawyer, philanthropist, and civic leader in New York.

Biography

Buttenwieser was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the son of immigrants from Germany. Buttenwieser practiced law and used the proceeds to invest in real estate and was a driver of real property legislation changes in New York state. Buttenwieser was active in Jewish philanthropic activities. He helped to found the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies and served as its president from 1924–1926; he was on the board of directors at the Hebrew Technical Institute, the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society, United Hebrew Charities, the,

United Palestine Appeal United Israel Appeal (UIA), a subsidiary of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), is a link between the American Jewish community and the people of Israel. An independent legal entity with 501(c)(3) charity status, and a Board of D ...

, and the Associated Alumni of City College. He was married to Caroline Weil; they had five children: Clara Buttenwieser Unger; Florence Buttenwieser Klingenstein; Clarence Buttenwieser; Benjamin Buttenwieser and Gertrude C. Buttenwieser Prins. Their son Benjamin married

Helen Lehman Buttenwieser Helen Lehman Buttenwieser (October 8, 1905 – November 22, 1989) was a 20th-century American lawyer, philanthropist, and later-life legal counselor of Alger Hiss. Background Helen Lehman was born on October 8, 1905, to Arthur Lehman and ...

. Benjamin made junior partner at Kuhn, Loeb & Co., a former, well renowned investment banking firm from NYC, and was also personally chosen as Assistant High Commissioner to Germany after WW2 by acting commissioner John J McCloy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttenwieser, Joseph L. 1865 births 1938 deaths Lawyers from Philadelphia Jewish American philanthropists American people of German-Jewish descent