David Graves Mugar (April 27, 1939 – January 25, 2022) was an

Armenian-American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenians, Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after A ...

businessman from Belmont, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Mugar family of

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...

. He was CEO and chair of Mugar Enterprises. His father, Stephen P. Mugar was the founder of the Star Market supermarket chain, and was also a major Boston-area philanthropist.

Life and career

Mugar was born on April 27, 1939. He attended the

Cambridge School of Weston The Cambridge School of Weston (also known as CSW or The Cambridge School) is an independent, coeducational high school in Weston, Massachusetts. Currently, the school has 325 students in grades 9 to 12, with approximately 70% day students and ...

and in 1962 graduated from Babson College. He worked as an executive producer of Boston's Fourth of July celebration, which is organized by the Boston 4 Celebrations Foundation (a not-for-profit organization founded by Mugar). In 2011, Mugar was embroiled in controversy when it was discovered that the CBS National coverage of Boston's Fourth of July celebration included "fake" fireworks clips. Graphics were digitally altered so that during the broadcast, fireworks were seemingly exploding behind famous Boston landmarks, such as Home Plate at Fenway Park, the Massachusetts State House, and Faneuil Hall. A research scientist from Brighton, MA, Karl Clodfelter, and a computer programmer from Ostrander, OH, David Perry, noticed the geographical impossibility of these clips and alerted the Boston Globe. A front-page story in the newspaper on July 8, 2011 broke the story to the public. The

Mugar Omni Theater The Mugar Omni Theater is a domed IMAX theater at the Museum of Science, in Boston, Massachusetts. Description The Mugar Omni is named after Stephen P. Mugar, the founder of Star Market, and his wife Marian G. Mugar. The Mugar Omni is non-profi ...

at the

Museum of Science, Boston The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentat ...

was named after Mugar's parents. David Mugar was also a Museum

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

's Mugar Memorial Library, the University's main study and research library, is named after his grandparents. In 2002, Mugar gave $5,000,000 for a new wing at the Cape Cod Hospital, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. According to the Federal Election Commission, in 2011 Mugar donated $250,000 to Restore Our Future, Inc., the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He died on January 25, 2022, at the age of 82.

References

1939 births 2022 deaths American food company founders American people of Armenian descent People from Greater Boston Philanthropists from Massachusetts Babson College alumni American chairpersons of corporations American chief executives of food industry companies Trustees of museums People from Belmont, Massachusetts {{US-business-bio-stub