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 County ...

.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 ...

'', November 23, 1984U.S. Department of State: Office of the Historian
/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 o ...

, 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 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 ...

. It later became a chain known as the

Darling Stores Corporation Darling is a term of endearment of Old English origin. Darling or Darlin' or Darlings may also refer to: People * Darling (surname) * Darling Jimenez (born 1980), American boxer * Darling Légitimus (1907–1999), French actress Places Austral ...

, 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 Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

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. M ...

in Lexington, Kentucky, where he bred thoroughbreds. In 1973, Gluck's colt

Protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

was voted

American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing Fo ...

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 Speak John (1958–1980) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1985 Champion broodmare sire in North America. Background Speak John was bred and raced by Max Gluck's Elmendorf Farm. He was trained in California under trainer Farre ...

, 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 University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

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