Leonard Lewisohn (October 10, 1847 – March 5, 1902) was an American

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, to

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 ...

parents, Julie and Samuel Lewisohn. In 1863, Samuel, a prominent Hamburg merchant, sent Leonard and his brother, Julius Lewisohn, to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, as his firm's representatives; about three years later they were joined by their younger brother,

Adolph Lewisohn Adolph Lewisohn (May 27, 1849 – August 17, 1938) was a German Jewish immigrant born in Hamburg who became a New York City investment banker, mining magnate, and philanthropist. He is the namesake of Lewisohn Hall (which formerly housed the Schoo ...

, and they formed the firm of Lewisohn Brothers in January 1866. As early as 1868, the firm turned its attention to the metal trade, becoming prominent dealers in lead during that year. He married Rosalie Jacobs on June 29, 1870, in Manhattan. They had the following children:

Jesse Lewisohn Jesse Lewisohn (8 July 1871 – 30 November 1918), was a businessman involved in copper trading with Lewisohn Brothers, and an owner of racehorses. Biography He was born in 1872 to Leonard Lewisohn and he had the following siblings: Walter Lewi ...

(1871–1918), Julia Lewisohn (1872–1927), Samuel Lewisohn (1875–1898), Lillie Lewisohn (1876–1976), Florence (Florine) Lewisohn (1878–1903), Walter Pickett Lewisohn (1880–1938), Frederick Lewisohn (1881-1959),

Alice Lewisohn Alice Lewisohn (1883–1972) was the founder of the Neighborhood Playhouse with her sister Irene Lewisohn. Alice was also an actress. Biography She was the daughter of Rosalie Jacobs and Leonard Lewisohn. In 1905 she and her sister, Irene Lewiso ...

(1883–1972), Aaron Oscar Lewisohn (1884–1917), and

Irene Lewisohn Irene Lewisohn (September 5, 1886 – April 4, 1944) was the founder of the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Museum of Costume Art. Biography She was the daughter of Rosalie Jacobs and Leonard Lewisohn. In 1905 she and her sister, Alice Lewisohn, ...

(1886–1944). He was president of the United Metals Selling Company. Lewisohn was prominent in philanthropy. He contributed to the Alliance colony in New Jersey, founded in 1882, and to almost every philanthropic institution in New York, regardless of creed. He likewise acted as treasurer of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, to which institution he gave his counsel and large sums of money. He was one of the largest contributors to the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

and to the Montefiore Sanatorium for consumptives. He died on March 5, 1902, and left an estate worth $12 million (equivalent to $ million in ).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewisohn, Leonard 1847 births 1902 deaths American mining businesspeople Jewish American philanthropists 19th-century German Jews Businesspeople from Hamburg Lewisohn family Burials at Salem Fields Cemetery 19th-century American philanthropists German emigrants to the United States 19th-century American businesspeople

Biography

References

Further reading

External links