Maxwell Henry Gluck (November 4, 1899 – November 23, 1984) was an American businessman, diplomat, thoroughbred horse breeder and philanthropist. He served as the
United States Ambassador to Ceylon from September 19, 1957, to October 2, 1958.
Biography
Early life
Maxwell Henry Gluck was born on November 4, 1899, in
Commerce, Texas
Commerce is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, situated on the eastern edge of North Texas, in the heart of the Texas Blackland Prairies. The town is south of the Texas/Oklahoma border. Commerce is the second-largest city in Hunt Count ...
.
[Robert D. McFadden]
Maxwell H. Gluck Dies At 85; Businessman and Ex-Envoy
''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 ...
'', November 23, 1984[U.S. Department of State: Office of the Historian](_blank)
/ref> He grew up in Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city, located along the banks of the Shenango River on the state border with Ohio, is about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwest ...
, where his parents owned a small store. He had two brothers, Morris and George and two sisters Lena (Speizer) and Jennifer (Mahado).
Career
In 1929, he opened a women's store in 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 ...
. It later became a chain known as the Darling Stores Corporation, with 150 stores in 27 states. Gluck served as its chairman.[Alfred Dupont Chandler, Louis Galambos, Dau Van Ee, ''The papers of Dwight David Eisenhower'', Johns Hopkins Press, 2001, p. 33]
/ref> In 1960, the Darling Stores Corporation merged with Grayson-Robinson Stores, which he purchased. Later, he served as Chairman of the A. S. Beck Shoe Corporation and Willoughby's Peerless Camera Stores.
Diplomacy
He was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower to serve as the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka
The position of United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives has existed since 1949.until 1972: "…to Ceylon…" Sri Lanka–United States relations and Maldives–United States relations have been friendly throughout the history of S ...
from September 19, 1957, to October 2, 1958.
Equestrianism
In 1952, he purchased Elmendorf Farm
Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, involved with horse racing since the 19th century. Once the North Elkhorn Farm, many owners and tenants have occupied the area, even during the American Civil War. Mo ...
in Lexington, Kentucky, where he bred thoroughbreds.
In 1973, Gluck's colt Protagonist was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse and his filly Talking Picture
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...
earned American Champion Two-Year-Old Female Horse honors. Both were trained by John Campo. Other top horses owned and raced by Max Gluck included Big Spruce
Big Spruce (1969–2001) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was an outstanding middle to longer distance runner on both dirt and grass called "one of North America's leading runners in the early 1970s" by the ''Thoroughbred Times''
Back ...
, Play the Red, Prince John, Speak John, and Super Moment
{{Infobox racehorse
, horsename = Super Moment
, image =
, caption =
, sire = Big Spruce
, grandsire = Herbager
, dam = Seductive
, damsire = Shantung
, sex = Stallion
, foaled = 1977
, country = United States
, colour = Bay
, breed ...
.
He was the 1973 recipient of the P. A. B. Widener Award as a top breeder of Kentucky-bred horses, and the 1977 recipient of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for racehorse owners. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually.
Past winners:
*1971 : Mr. & Mrs. E. E. Fogelson
*1972 : ...
.
In 1983, Maxwell Gluck donated US$3 million to the University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
for the establishment of an equine research center.
Personal life
He married Muriel (Schlesinger) Gluck in 1948. They resided in Lexington and in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. He was a large donor to the Republican Party and art collector.
Death
He died of heart failure on November 23, 1984, at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as ''UCLA Medical Center'', "RRMC" or "Ronald Reagan") is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United ...
in Los Angeles.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gluck, Maxwell Henry
1899 births
1984 deaths
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Lexington, Kentucky
American philanthropists
Ambassadors of the United States to Sri Lanka
American racehorse owners and breeders
American art collectors
University of Kentucky people
People from Commerce, Texas
People from Sharon, Pennsylvania
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American diplomats