Alan H. Kempner

Alan Horace Kempner (July 4, 1897 – December 17, 1985)[1] was an American stockbroker, publishing executive, rare books and manuscripts collector, and philanthropist.[2]

Alan Horace Kempner
BornJuly 4, 1897
Little Rock, Arkansas
DiedDecember 17, 1985 (age 88)
Manhattan, New York
NationalityUnited States
EducationB.A. Columbia College
Occupationstockbroker, publishing executive
EmployerFarrar, Straus, and Giroux
Spouse(s)Margaret Loeb
Relatives Carl M. Loeb (father-in-law)
John Langeloth Loeb Sr. (brother-in-law)
S. Marshall Kempner (brother-in-law)
John Langeloth Loeb Jr. (nephew)
Nan Kempner (daughter-in-law)

Early Life and Education

Kempner was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, before attending Columbia College, where he majored in Latin and graduated in 1917.[2][3]

Career

Kempner worked at the American Zinc and Chemical Company for nine years, then purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and became a partner in Byfield & Company.[2] He served as a lieutenant in World War I and joined the United States Air Corps in World War II and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.[2] His interest in books led him to join Farrar, Straus and Giroux as a manager and served on its board of directors after retirement.[2]

Philanthropy

An avid book collector, Kempner held first edition books as well as manuscripts by Giambattista Bodoni, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, J. M. W. Turner, Agostino Giustiniani, and William Morris. His bookplate was designed by Rockwell Kent.[2][3] Over the years, he donated his manuscripts collection to Columbia University and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library renamed the exhibition hall in his honor.[4] He also endowed a professorship of biological sciences at Columbia, which was first held by noted biologist James E. Darnell.[5]

He also served as the president and chairman of the Hospital for Joint Diseases.[2][6]

Personal life

Kempner married Margaret Loeb, the daughter of investment banker and founder of Loeb, Rhoades & Co., Carl M. Loeb, on June 1, 1920.[1] The couple had three children: Alan Horace Kempner Jr., Carl Loeb Kempner, and Thomas Lenox Kempner, who married socialite and fashion icon Nan Kempner.[7][8] His descendants bearing the Kempner name are still in charge of the successors to the Loeb, Rhoades & Co. investment firm and the Loeb family fortune.[9][10] His grandson, Thomas Lenox Kempner Jr., co-founded the hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management.[11]

His sister, Charlotte Kempner, married investment banker and founder of the Bank of the West, Sigmund Marshall Kempner, after he was divorced from Barbara Hazel Guggenheim, the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim and sister of Peggy Guggenheim.[12]

References
  1. "Klempner family". www.ics.uci.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  2. James, George (1985-12-19). "Alan H. Kempner, Publishing Official and a Broker, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  3. Columbia Library Columns Volume 36 Number 1. New York: Friends of the Columbia Libraries. 1986. pp. 3–12.
  4. "10 Years Later, Bloom Still on for Rare Books". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  5. "Columbia Daily Spectator 30 October 1972 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  6. "66th Annual Report for the Year 1972". New York University Medical Archives. 1972. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  7. "Alan H. Kempner Jr". Legacy. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  8. Pollack, Andrew (1998-09-18). "Carl Loeb Kempner, 74, Broker And Educational Philanthropist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  9. "Loeb Announces Fourth Generation of Family Leadership". www.businesswire.com. 2014-02-05. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  10. Das, Anupreeta (2014-02-05). "A Loeb Hopes to Bank on His Name". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  11. "Ford Foundation Names Thomas L. Kempner Jr. to Board of Trustees". Ford Foundation. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  12. "S. Marshall Kempner Dead; Longtime Investment Banker". The New York Times. 1987-08-04. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
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