Adolph Lewisohn (May 27, 1849 – August 17, 1938) was a German

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrant born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

who became a

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investment banker, mining magnate, and philanthropist. He is the namesake of Lewisohn Hall (which formerly housed the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

School of Mines and now houses the School of General Studies and the School of Continuing Education) on the school's Morningside Heights campus, as well as the former Lewisohn Stadium at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. In 1926 Time magazine called him "one of the most intelligent and effective workers on human relationships in the U.S."

Early life

Adolph Lewisohn was a son of Samuel Lewisohn (1809–1872) and his wife Julie (died 1856). He was born in

on May 27, 1849, and grew up with two brothers and four sisters. At the age 16 Adolph emigrated to New York City to assist his brothers, Julius and Leonard Lewisohn with the family's mercantile business, Adolph Lewisohn & Son, which was named for his father. Adolph eventually became President of that business.

Career

After meeting

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

in the 1870s, Adolph pushed the family firm to become involved with copper. Previously in limited demand, copper's conductivity made it vital for a world that increasingly depended on electricity. In the 1880s, the brothers were among the first to invest in the copper mines of

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. It proved to be a profitable venture, and they later established several new mining companies; including Tennessee Copper and Chemical Corporation of Ducktown, Tennessee, General Development Company, Miami Copper Company of Miami, Arizona, and the South American Gold and Platinum Company. Subsequently, Adolph and his brothers became "copper kings" with one of their mines paying 35 million in dividends by the 1890s. It was about this time that Adolph stated he had made all the money he wanted to make, and decided to stop and enjoy it.

Art collecting

Lewisohn was an avid collector of art and items of historical interest, and a deep lover of classical music; in particular

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. He collected paintings, antiquities, decorative arts, manuscripts and rare books. He was particularly known for his extensive collection of works by artists from the Barbizon school and the later Impressionist artists. He was also an amateur singer, and every year on his birthday would sing opera arias to his birthday party guests up until the end of his life.

Philanthropy

Lewisohn had a firm belief that everyone should be able to experience fine art, and much his philanthropic endeavours went towards making this vision happen. He donated a significant portion of his art collection to the

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

, including “The Awakening” by Maurice Sterne, "Selina" by Jacob Epstein, and “Eve and the Apple,” by Kaj Neilsen. He was also a regular supporter of fine music in the New York. In addition to supporting local institutions like the Metropolitan Opera, he underwrote most of the costs of an annual Summer music concert series held at the Lewisohn Stadium. The series sported some of the best international performers in the classical world, and due to Lewisohn's generosity, ticket prices were very inexpensive and affordable to what he termed 'the every day man'. He was also an active philanthropist in the Jewish community, donating to Mount Sinai Hospital and the Orphanage of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society of Pleasantville, New York. He also served as President of the Hebrew Technical School for Girls.

Personal life

Adolph married Emma Cahn on June 26, 1878, in Manhattan when he was 29 years old.New York City Marriage Index Lewisohn's son Sam A. Lewisohn followed into his footsteps, and continued his law practice.
Sam A. Lewisohn, 1884-1951
' Stamford, Conn. : The Overbrook Press. 1951. Adolph Lewisohn died on August 17, 1938, at his Upper Saranac Lake camp, Prospect Point Camp.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewisohn, Adolph 1849 births 1938 deaths 19th-century German businesspeople 19th-century German Jews Lewisohn family American people of German-Jewish descent Immigrants to the United States Burials at Salem Fields Cemetery Emigrants from the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg