Meyer Guggenheim

Meyer Guggenheim (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Template:IPA; February 1, 1828 – March 15, 1905)<ref name="MGObit1905" /> was the patriarch of what became known as the Guggenheim family in the United States, which became one of the world's wealthiest families during the 19th century, and remained so during the 20th.

Early life

Guggenheim was born in Lengnau, Aargau, Switzerland, on February 1, 1828. He was the son of Simon Meyer Guggenheim and Schafeli (née Levinger) Guggenheim and was of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.<ref name="Davis1994" /> He had five siblings. Guggenheim's family fell into poverty when his father had to give up his job to care for Guggenheim's sick mother.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> His mother eventually died when Meyer was 6 years old.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a child, Meyer sold articles door-to-door after school to support his family.<ref name=":0" /> His father hoped to remarry with Rachel Weil, a widow. However, due to his father's poverty, restrictions in Switzerland stopped them from getting married.<ref name=":0" /> This forced the family to emigrate to the United States, where no such restrictions on marriage applied.

Career

After emigrating from Switzerland in 1847 to the United States,<ref name=britannica /> he launched a new life in the importing business. He ultimately made his fortune (one of the largest of the 19th century) through business ventures in mining and smelting, mostly in the United States.<ref name=britannica>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

After investing in silver mines in the Leadville mining district of Colorado, he expanded into ore smelting in Colorado. He built a number of smelters across the United States and in northern Mexico. As his several sons grew up, they assumed leading roles in the family mining and smelting business.<ref>National Mining Hall of Fame, Meyer Guggenheim, accessed January 13, 2014</ref>

Family

Guggenheim met Barbara Weil (1834–1900), the daughter of his new stepmother, and married her four years later around 1852.<ref name="Reme2002">Template:Cite book</ref> Together, they were the parents of ten surviving children:

Five of their seven sons were active in the family businesses.<ref name="Davis1994">Template:Cite book</ref>

• Isaac Guggenheim (1854–1922), who married Carrie Sonneborn in 1876.<ref name="IGObit1922">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Daniel Guggenheim (1856–1930), head of the family after his father's death, who was the most active of his sons in developing and acquiring worldwide mining interests.<ref name="DGObit1930">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Maurice Guggenheim (1858–1939), originally in the lace and embroidery import business; by 1881, he was a financier involved in mining and smelting.<ref name="MGObit1939">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Solomon Robert Guggenheim (1861–1949), a supporter of modern art through his foundation and donations to the Museum of Modern Art.<ref name="SRGObit1949">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jeanette Guggenheim (1863–1889), married Albert Gerstle and died in childbirth.<ref name="Hoy1967">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Benjamin Guggenheim (1865–1912),<ref name="BG1912">Template:Cite news</ref> who died in the Titanic disaster. He married Florette Seligman.<ref name="1912Suicide">Template:Cite news</ref>
• John Simon Guggenheim (1867–1941), a one-term senator from Colorado.<ref name="SGObit1941">Template:Cite news</ref>
• William Guggenheim (1868–1941)<ref name="WGOBit1941">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Rose Guggenheim (1871–1945),<ref name="RGQObit1945">Template:Cite news</ref> married three times: first to Albert Loeb (head of the New York Stock Exchange), then to Samuel M. Goldsmith in 1908, and last to Charles E. Quicke.<ref name="1924Marriage">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Cora Gwendalyn Guggenheim (1873–1956) married Louis Frank Rothschild, founder of L.F. Rothschild.<ref name="CGRObit1956">Template:Cite news</ref>

After his wife's death in 1900, Guggenheim and his sons provided $200,000 to Mount Sinai Hospital for the construction of a hospital in her honor.<ref name="$200KGift">Template:Cite news</ref> Guggenheim died on March 15, 1905, in Palm Beach, Florida.<ref name="MGObit1905">Template:Cite news</ref> He was interred at the Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.<ref name="1905Burial">Template:Cite news</ref>

Descendants

Through his son Benjamin, Guggenheim was a grandfather of art collector and socialite Peggy Guggenheim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• National Mining Hall of Fame: Meyer Guggenheim
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