John Simon Guggenheim (December 30, 1867 – November 2, 1941) was an American

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

man,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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 ...

Life

Guggenheim Hall, CU Boulder quad, ca, 1911

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

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 ...

descent, Simon Guggenheim was the son of Meyer Guggenheim and Barbara Guggenheim, and was the younger brother of

Daniel Guggenheim Daniel Guggenheim (July 9, 1856 – September 28, 1930) was an American mining magnate and philanthropist, and a son of Meyer and Barbara Guggenheim. By 1910 he directed the world's most important group of mining interests. He was forced out ...

and

Solomon R. Guggenheim Solomon Robert Guggenheim (February 2, 1861 – November 3, 1949) was an American businessman and art collector. He is best known for establishing the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Guggen ...

. He attended Central High School and the Peirce School of Business Administration before settling in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

, where he worked as the chief ore buyer for his father's mining and smelting operation, M. Guggenheim's Sons. Guggenheim moved to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1892 and married Olga Hirsch on November 24, 1898, at the iconic

Waldorf Astoria New York The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schult ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. To celebrate their marriage, the Guggenheims provided a Thanksgiving dinner to 5,000 poor Manhattan children. He was the Republican candidate for Governor of Colorado early in the 1898 campaign but withdrew after riots broke out at the State Convention in Colorado Springs, during which one man was killed and several injured. He was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

in 1904. Simon and Olga Guggenheim made their residence in Denver and celebrated the birth of their first child,

John Simon Guggenheim John Simon Guggenheim (December 30, 1867 – November 2, 1941) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. Life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of Jewish descent, Simon Guggenheim was the son of Meyer Guggenheim and Barbara G ...

, in 1905. To commemorate the event, Simon Guggenheim made an $80,000 donation () to the

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines, informally called Mines, is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

to build a namesake building, Simon Guggenheim Hall. At the time, it was the largest private grant ever made to a state institution. In 1907, Olga gave birth to their second son,

George Denver Guggenheim George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

. In 1909, Simon donated a Law Building at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

. In 1907, Simon Guggenheim was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, representing Colorado from 1907 to 1913. During his term in the Senate, he chaired the Committee to Establish a University of the United States, and the

Committee on the Philippines The Committee on the Philippines was a standing committee of the United States Senate from 1899 to 1921. The committee was established by Senate resolution on December 15, 1899, to oversee administration of the Philippines, which Spain had ceded to ...

. While in Congress, one of his older brothers,

Benjamin Guggenheim Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman. He died aboard when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. His body was never recovered. Early life Guggenheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, t ...

, died in the RMS ''Titanic'' catastrophe. After his term expired, he and Olga returned to New York. He joined the board of American Smelting and Refining Company, later becoming the board chairman. From 1919 to 1941 he was president of that company. In 1922, Guggenheim's son John died of

mastoiditis Mastoiditis is the result of an infection that extends to the air cells of the skull behind the ear. Specifically, it is an inflammation of the mucosal lining of the mastoid antrum and mastoid air cell system inside the mastoid process. The ma ...

just before leaving for college. In his memory, Guggenheim and his wife established the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

in 1925. In 1939, the Guggenheims' second son, George, committed suicide in a Manhattan hotel at the age of 32. Simon Guggenheim died in 1941 and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

References

External links

"How We Got Guggenheim Hall"
Simon Guggenheim's donation and its backstory, CU Alumni Magazine, Feb. 1, 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Guggenheim, Simon 1867 births 1941 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American people of Swiss-Jewish descent American philanthropists Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni Colorado Republicans

Simon Guggenheim John Simon Guggenheim (December 30, 1867 – November 2, 1941) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. Life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of Jewish descent, Simon Guggenheim was the son of Meyer Guggenheim and Barbara G ...

Jewish American philanthropists Jewish United States senators New York (state) Republicans Politicians from Philadelphia Republican Party United States senators from Colorado Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Jewish American people in Colorado politics 1904 United States presidential electors American businesspeople in metals

Life

See also

References

External links