Alex Manoogian

Alex Manoogian (1901 Smyrna Ottoman Empire - 10 July 1996, Detroit) was a successful American businessman, industrial engineer, and well-known philanthropist, especially to Armenian causes.

Born into an Armenian family, Manoogian was 19 when he arrived in the United States fleeing Turkish genocide of Armenians in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Arriving in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1920, he began working as a machinist. He also worked for short periods in Rhode Island and in Massachusetts. In time he was joined by his parents, two brothers and two sisters.

Manoogian moved to Detroit in 1924. Initially gaining experience in the auto companies, in 1929 he set off on his own, founding the Masco Screw Company, later known as Masco Corporation. By 1936 -- in the midst of the Great Depression -- Manoogian had grown Masco to the point that it was listed on the NYSE. This was the first time a company owned by an Armenian American had ever been listed on the stock exchange.

Manoogian's greatest business achievement may have been his redesign of the Delta faucet, which resulted in enormous sales for the plumbing fixture.

Manoogian contributed generously to charitable organizations and educational institutions, especially to the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), of which organization he was voted Honorary Life President in 1989. Manoogian was also active in the Knights of Vartan and in 1940 he was elected its Avak Sbarabed (National Commander). In 1966 Manoogian devoted his mansion to the city of Detroit. It is today the mayoral residence for Detroit.

In 1968 he was responsible for the establishment of the AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian Cultural Fund. The fund, seeded with a $1 million is devoted to the publication and translation of Armenian scholarly and literary works, and Armenian cultural worldwide.

The Manoogians have also funded (through the AGBU) schools for Armenians in the Diaspora bearing the Manoogian name in Southfield, Michigan, Los Angeles, California, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Beirut, Lebanon, Zahle, Lebanon, Egypt, Tehran, Iran, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ontario and Montevideo, Uruguay. Manoogian also funded numerous church, cultural centers, university chairs for Armenian studies and museums worldwide.

There is an Alex Manoogian Street named after him in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, and another in Stepanakert, the capital of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.

His daughter, Louise Manoogian Simone, succeeded him as President of AGBU. His son, Richard Manoogian, is CEO of Masco and a major collector of American art.