Louis M. Rabinowitz

Louis M. Rabinowitz (1887–1957) was an American businessman, philanthropist and art collector. Born in Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire), he emigrated to the United States, where he founded a manufacturing company and became a millionaire. He established endowments at Yale University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He funded Nelson Glueck's archaeological trips to the Negev of Israel. His art collection is held posthumously at the Yale University Art Gallery.

Louis Mayer Rabinowitz
BornOctober 16, 1887
Rosanne (Raseiniai), Lithuania
DiedApril 27, 1957(1957-04-27) (aged 69)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationBusinessman, philanthropist
Spouse(s)Rose Netter Rabinowitz
ChildrenVictor Rabinowitz, Lucille Perlman,
RelativesMarcia Rabinowitz (daughter-in-law), Samuel Perlman (son-in-law), Joanne Grant (daughter-in-law), Joni Rabinowitz (granddaughter), Peter Rabinowitz (grandson), Bill Perlman (grandson), Lee Perlman (grandson), Mark Rabinowitz (grandson), Abby Rabinowitz (granddaughter)

Background

Louis M. Rabinowitz was born on October 16, 1887, in Rosanne (Raseiniai), now Lithuania.[1][2][3] He emigrated to the United States in 1901,[1][2] at the age of 14.[4]

Career

Upon his arrival, Rabinowitz worked menial jobs and learned English by reading books in the Cooper Union library.[5]

He founded L.M. Rabinowitz & Co., a corset manufacturing company based in Brooklyn, New York City.[1][3][6] He served as its chairman.[3] He sold it to Holland Furnace Co., a Holland, Michigan-based home furnace company, for US$2 million in 1966.[7][8]

Rabinowitz served on the board of directors of the Municipal Bank of Brooklyn.[9]

Philanthropy

Rabinowitz established the Rabinowitz Fund for Judaica Research at Yale University.[4][10] He also endowed the chair in Semitic Languages and Literature at Yale; it was held by Franz Rosenthal.[3][4] He received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.[3] He also received a citation from National Jewish Welfare Board for his support of Jewish literature in 1956.[11]

The Negev in Israel, where Rabinowitz sponsored archeological trips in the 1950s.

Rabinowitz donated US$50,000 to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for the research of synagogues in the Near East in 1949.[12] This led to the exploration of ancient synagogues in Caesarea, Yafa an-Naseriyye, Sha'alvim and other places in Israel.[13] He also funded a trip to Syria, which led to the exploration of the Dura-Europos synagogue.[13]

Rabinowitz served on the board of trustees of the American Schools of Oriental Research from 1949 to 1957.[3] He funded Nelson Glueck's archaeological trips to the Negev in 1952, 1953,[14] and 1954,[15] where many ancient Jewish sites were found.[3]

Personal life and death

Rabinowitz had a wife, Rose,[16] a son, Victor, who became a lawyer[17] and a daughter, Lucille. His daughter-in-law, Joanne Grant, was a journalist and Civil Rights activist.

Benjamin West, Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus (1768), formerly owned by Rabinowitz.

Rabinowitz was an art and antique book collector. For example, he owned four First Folios.[18] He also owned paintings by Benjamin West, like his 1768 Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus, later donated to the Yale University Art Gallery.[19]

Rabinowitz died on April 27, 1957 in New York City.[3][4][5] He was 69 years old.[3][4] By December 1957, the Yale University Library established the Louis M. Rabinowitz Memorial Fund in his honor.[20]

Legacy

The Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation was chaired by his son Victor Rabinowitz posthumously.[17] A 1967 file from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed that it supported Civil Rights leader Floyd McKissick.[21]

See also

References
  1. Cohn-Sherbok, Dan (2010). Dictionary of Jewish Biography. A&C Black. ISBN 9781441197849. OCLC 939168506.
  2. "Rabinowitz, Louis M. (1887–1957)". Blackwell Reference Online. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. Albright, W. F. (April 1957). "Louis M. Rabinowitz in Memoriam". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 146 (146): 2–1. doi:10.1086/BASOR1355909. JSTOR 1355909. S2CID 166521938.
  4. "Louis M. Rabinowitz, Noted Philanthropist and Bibliophile, Dead". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. April 29, 1957. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  5. Babb, James T. (July 1957). "Louis M. Rabinowitz". The Yale University Library Gazette. 32 (1): 1–2. JSTOR 40859389.
  6. "Louis M. Rabinowitz, Philanthropist, Dies". The Bridgeport Telegram. Bridgeport, Connecticut. April 29, 1957. p. 16. Retrieved August 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Strictly Business". The Bee. Danville, Virginia. February 12, 1966. p. 8. Retrieved August 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Firm Bought By Furnace Holland Co". The News-Palladium. Benton Harbor, Michigan. February 14, 1966. p. 16. Retrieved August 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Loans Voted By Directors To Each Other". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. March 20, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved August 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Louis M. Rabinowitz (1887-1957), a major benefactor of the Yale Judaica Collection". Judaica Collection at Yale University Library. Yale University. November 4, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  11. "Honoring Patron of Jewish Literature". The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. June 29, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved September 6, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Louis M. Rabinowitz Sets Up Israel Synagogue Research Fund". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. July 10, 1949. p. 7. Retrieved August 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Louis M. Rabinowitz — in Memoriam". Israel Exploration Journal. 7 (2): 136. 1957. JSTOR 27924699.
  14. "Sponsors Archeological Survey of the Negev". The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. March 12, 1954. p. 2. Retrieved September 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Bronze Age Village Predating Abraham, Discovered in Israel". Gasconade County Republican. Owensville, Missouri. January 7, 1954. p. 4. Retrieved September 6, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Mrs. Louis M. Rabinowitz, Philanthropist's Widow, 82" (PDF). The New York Times. Aug 18, 1968. p. 89. Mrs. Rose Netter Rabinowitz, widow[...]
  17. Rabinowitz, Victor (1996). Unrepentant Leftist: A Lawyer's Memoir. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 164. ISBN 9780252022531. OCLC 33983918. Louis M. Rabinowitz.
  18. West, Anthony James (2001). The Shakespeare First Folio: A New Worldwide Census of First Folios. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 261. ISBN 9780198187691. OCLC 45505940.
  19. "Truth to Power: Benjamin West's Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus". Yale University Art Gallery. Yale University. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  20. "Louis M. Rabinowitz Memorial Fund in the Yale University Library". Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society. 47 (2): 124. December 1957. JSTOR 43059927.
  21. Anderson, Jack (August 14, 1972). "Merry-Go-Round". Moberly Monitor-Index. Moberly, Missouri. p. 3. Retrieved September 1, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. The FBI file on black leader Floyd McKissick reveals that, in 1967, he "received Check Number 2665 made out in his name and drawn against the account of the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation, Incorporated, in the amount of $2500."
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