View source for Samuel Bronfman

{{Short description|Canadian businessman (1891–1971)}}
{{Infobox person
| name   = Samuel Bronfman
| image     = Photo_of_bronfman.jpg
| image_size     = 200px
| caption  = Bronfman in 1936
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1889|2|27|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Otaci]], [[Soroksky Uyezd]], [[Bessarabia Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1971|7|10|1889|2|27|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| occupation     = Founder of [[Seagram|Distillers Corporation Ltd.]]
| spouse         = {{marriage|[[Saidye Rosner Bronfman]]|June 21, 1922}}
| parents        =
| children       = 4 
| nationality = [[Canadians|Canadian]]
}}

'''Samuel Bronfman''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|CC}} (February 27, 1889 – July 10, 1971) was a Canadian businessman, [[philanthropist]], and member of the Canadian [[Bronfman family]]. He founded Distillers Corporation Limited and purchased the [[Seagram|Seagram Company]],<ref name="martin" /> that became the world’s largest liquor distilling firm.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Goldsborough|first1=Gordon|title=Memorable Manitobans: Samuel Bronfman (1889-1971)|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/bronfman_s.shtml|website=Manitoba Historical Society|accessdate=March 25, 2015}}</ref>

==Biography ==
Samuel Bronfman was born onboard ship {{em|en route}} to Canada, either in [[Soroki]] or in [[Otaci]], [[Soroksky Uyezd|Soroca uyezd]], [[Bessarabia]] (then part of the [[Russian Empire]]; now part of present-day [[Moldova]]),<ref name="martin">{{cite journal|last1=Martin|first1=Joseph E.|title=Titans|journal=Canada's History|date=2017|volume=97|issue=5|pages=47–53|issn=1920-9894}}</ref> one of eight children of Mindel and Yechiel Bronfman. He and his parents were [[Jewish]] refugees of [[Czarist]] [[Russia]]'s [[antisemitic]] [[pogroms]],<ref name="sam">Michael R. Marrus (1992). ''Samuel Bronfman: The Life and Times of Seagram's Mr. Sam''</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2022}} who immigrated to [[Wapella, Saskatchewan|Wapella]] in Saskatchewan' [[District of Assiniboia]]. They soon moved to [[Brandon, Manitoba|Brandon]], [[Manitoba]].<ref name="martin" /> A wealthy family, they were accompanied by their [[rabbi]] and two servants. Soon Yechiel learned that [[tobacco]] farming, which had made him a wealthy man in his homeland, was incompatible with the cold climate of that region. Yechiel was forced to work as a laborer for the [[Canadian Northern Railway]], and after a short time moved to a better job in a sawmill. Yechiel and his sons then started making a good living selling firewood and began a trade in frozen [[Freshwater whitefish|whitefish]] to earn a winter income. Eventually, they turned to trade horses, a venture through which they became involved in the hotel and bar business.<ref name="business">[http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/44/The-Seagram-Company-Ltd.html The Seagram Company Ltd. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on The Seagram Company Ltd<!-- Bot generated title -->]. ''referenceforbusiness.com''.</ref>

In 1903, the family bought a hotel business, and Samuel, noting that much of the profit was in alcoholic beverages, set up shop as a [[liquor]] distributor. He founded the ''Distillers Corporation'' in [[Montreal]] in 1924, specializing in cheap [[whisky]], and concurrently taking advantage of the U.S. [[prohibition]] on alcoholic beverages. The Bronfmans sold liquor to the northern cities of the U.S. such as [[Boston]], [[New York City]] and [[Chicago]] during the [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition era]], where alcohol production and distribution was illegal, while operating from the perimeters of [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]] where alcohol production was legal.<ref>[[Daniel Okrent]] (2010). ''Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition''. Simon & Schuster. {{ISBN|978-0-7432-7702-0}}. pp. 146–158.</ref>

On June 21, 1922, Bronfman married [[Saidye Rosner Bronfman|Saidye Rosner]] (December 9, 1896 – July 6, 1995), with whom he had four children:  Aileen Mindel "Minda" Bronfman de Gunzburg (1925–1985),
[[Phyllis Lambert]] (born January 24, 1927), [[Edgar Bronfman, Sr.|Edgar Miles Bronfman]] (June 20, 1929&nbsp;– December 21, 2013<ref>{{Cite web|title=Edgar M. Bronfman Sr. Obituary |date=2013 |work=Buffalo News |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/buffalonews/name/edgar-bronfman-obituary?pid=168708882|access-date=2021-08-18|via=Legacy.com}}</ref>), [[Charles Bronfman|Charles Rosner Bronfman]] (born June 27, 1931).

==Business career==
Bronfman's Distillers Corporation acquired [[Joseph E. Seagram & Sons]] of [[Waterloo, Ontario]], from the heirs of [[Joseph Seagram]] in 1928.<ref name="martin" /> Bronfman eventually built an empire based on the appeal of brand names developed previously by Seagram, including Calvert, [[Dewars]], and Seven Crown—to higher-level consumers. His sales were boosted during the United States' abortive experiment with [[prohibition]], and he was apparently able to do so while staying within the confines of both Canadian law, where prohibition laws had been previously repealed, and [[United States|American]] law. His renamed company, Seagram Co. Ltd., became an international distributor of alcoholic beverages, and a diversified conglomerate which included an entertainment branch.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} Under his leadership, in the 1950s the Seagram company developed a headquarters in New York City, the [[Seagram Building]].<ref>{{cite ny1960|pages=342–351}}</ref>

Because of changes to US tax law in the [[Lyndon Johnson]] administration, it became advantageous for Bronfman to purchase an oil company,<ref name="crossfire">Jim Marrs. ''Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy'' pp. 276–277; {{ISBN|978-0-88184-648-5}}</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2022}} which he did with the purchase of Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company in 1963 for $50 million. In 1980, the Bronfman heirs sold the Texas Pacific Oil holdings to [[Sun Oil Co.]] for $2.3 billion.<ref name="life">Michael R. Marrus (1991). ''Samuel Bronfman - The Life and Times of Seagram’s Mr. Sam''. Brandeis University Press of New England. {{ISBN|0-87451-571-8}}; pages 372-373.</ref>

The Seagram assets have since been acquired by other companies, notably [[The Coca-Cola Company]], [[Diageo]], and [[Pernod Ricard]].

==Philanthropy, awards and commemoration==
[[File:IMJ foe wiki 2.jpg|thumb|The Bronfman Archaeology Wing of the [[Israel Museum]] in [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]], is named for Bronfman and his wife]]

In 1952, he established [[The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation]], one of Canada's major private granting foundations. Bronfman was President of the [[Canadian Jewish Congress]] from 1939 to 1962, and he was made a Companion of the [[Order of Canada]] in 1967.<ref>{{Canadian honour|Type=orc|ID=1854|accessdate=24 May 2010}}</ref> In 1971, he helped to establish the Bronfman Building at [[McGill University]], which houses the [[Desautels Faculty of Management]]. The building was named in his honour as appreciation for his donation to the university. The Bronfman family has continued its support of the university; in 1993 they created the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, and in 2002 donated the Seagram Building on Sherbrooke St. to McGill.<ref>[https://mcgill.ca/donorreport/timeline/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502111618/http://mcgill.ca/donorreport/timeline/|date=May 2, 2006}}</ref>

The Bronfman Archaeology Wing of the [[Israel Museum]] in [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]], is named for Bronfman and his wife.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/page_819 |title=Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Archaeology Wing |access-date=2013-12-22 |archive-date=2013-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207090753/http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/page_819 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Samuel Bronfman Chair in Management was also established at [[McGill University]] in January 1942.<ref name="chair"/> The current holder is [[Nancy J. Adler]], a professor of organizational behavior in the Desautels Faculty of Management.<ref name="chair">{{cite web |title=Named/Endowed Chair Appointments at McGill University |url=https://mcgill.ca/provost/academics/distinguished-professorships/named-chairs |publisher=Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), McGill University |accessdate=20 February 2019}}</ref>

From 1961 to 1970, the Samuel Bronfman Foundation funded the [[American Public Health Association|American Public Health Association's]] Bronfman Prize for Public Health Achievement and Annual Bronfman Lecture to support public health practitioners that were neglected by existing awards focused on biomedical discoveries. The first awardees were [[World Health Organization]] [[Director-General of the World Health Organization|Director-General]] [[Marcolino Gomes Candau]], National Tuberculosis Association Director James E. Perkins, and [[National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute|National Heart Institute]] Director James Watt. The first Bronfman lecture was delivered by John C. Bugher, director of the [[University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus|University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras']] Nuclear Center, on his work supporting the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|US Atomic Energy Commission's]] biomedical research.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 1962 |title=The Bronfman Prizes - 1961 |journal=[[American Journal of Public Health]] |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=143–146|doi=10.2105/AJPH.52.1.143 |pmid=18017897 |pmc=1522668 }}</ref>

==In fiction==
[[Mordecai Richler]]'s 1989 novel ''Solomon Gursky Was Here'' is largely based on the life of Samuel Bronfman.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

==See also==
*[[History of the Jews in Canada]]
*[[Moldovan Canadians]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Christopher G. Curtis, "Bronfman Family", ''The Canadian Encyclopedia: Year 2000 Edition'' (1999) – {{ISBN|0-7710-2099-6}}
* [[Michael Marrus|Michael R. Marrus]], ''Mr. Sam: The Life and Times of Samuel Bronfman'' (1991) – {{ISBN|0-87451-571-8}}
* [[Peter C. Newman]], ''Bronfman Dynasty: The Rothschilds of the New World'' (1978; U.S. title: ''King of the Castle: The Making of a Dynasty'') {{ISBN|0-7710-6758-5}}

==External links==
* [http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2173.xml Seagram Museum collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711023410/https://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead%2F2173.xml |date=2020-07-11 }} at [[Hagley Museum and Library]]
* [http://dr.library.brocku.ca/handle/10464/6247 Seagram Museum Collection] Brock University Library Digital Repository
{{S-start}}
{{s-npo}}
{{Succession box|title=President of the [[Canadian Jewish Congress]]|
                 before=[[Samuel William Jacobs]]|
                 after=[[Michael Garber]]|
                 years='''1939–1962'''}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronfman, Samuel}}
[[Category:Bronfman family|Samuel]]
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian philanthropists]]
[[Category:Anglophone Quebec people]]
[[Category:Bessarabian Jews]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Brandon, Manitoba]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Montreal]]
[[Category:Canadian anti-communists]]
[[Category:Canadian chief executives]]
[[Category:Canadian drink distillers]]
[[Category:Canadian Jewish Congress members]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Moldovan-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian philanthropists]]
[[Category:Moldovan anti-communists]]
[[Category:Moldovan Jews]]
[[Category:People from Otaci]]
[[Category:People from Soroksky Uyezd]]
[[Category:Seagram]]
[[Category:Jewish anti-communists]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Moldovan descent]]