Lewis Rodman Wanamaker
Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (born February 13, 1863 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † March 9, 1928 in Atlantic City , New Jersey ) was an American businessman .
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Lewis Rodman Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia on February 13, 1863. His parents were entrepreneurs John Wanamaker and Mary Erringer Brown. He studied at Princeton University from 1881 to 1886 . At university he sang in the choir and he was a member and manager of the Princeton Glee Club. He was also a member of Princeton University's Ivy Club and the 1885 Tiger Football Team. From 1886 he worked in his father's business ( Wanamaker Department Store ) in Philadelphia. In the same year he married Fernanda Henry. From 1889 he worked as a businessman in Paris . In 1911 he bought the newspaper publisher "Philadelphia Evening Telegraph". Wanamaker opened department stores in Philadelphia, New York and Paris. He sponsored school and sports projects and was also a patron of the arts. He also invested in early aviation projects. Lewis R. Wanamaker always stood in the shadow of his famous father. After the death of his father, he took over his company. Wanamaker suffered from severe kidney disease during the last decade of his life, from which he died on March 9, 1928 at the age of 65 in his villa in Atlantic City. He had a son (Captain John Wanamaker) and two daughters. He was buried in the family grave near Philadelphia.
Lewis Rodman Wanamaker financed the construction of an organ ( Wanamaker Organ ) in 1924 in " Wanamaker’s " (now Macy’s ) department store on 13th and Market Street in Philadelphia. Wanamaker also sponsored the Philadelphia Orchestra . In 1926 he financed the purchase of a 17-ton bell ( Founder's Bell ) for the "Lincoln Liberty Building". He owned a collection of stringed instruments. Wanamaker supported aviation projects. He sponsored the flights of Richard E. Byrd and Charles Lindbergh , among others .
Wanamaker also sponsored religious projects such as B. Altar and pulpit of St. Mary Magdalene Church on the royal estate of Sandringham House , England. He also funded a cross for Westminster Abbey in London. Wanamaker also sponsored St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. He supported the architect John T. Windrim , who built the free-standing bell tower of the Church of St. James the Less in Allegheny West near Philadelphia. In 1908 he initiated the "Millrose Games", a sports event. "Millrose" was the name of his country estate near Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Wanamaker supported the PGA of America . In 1916 he donated the "Wanamaker Trophy".
From 1908 to 1913, Wanamaker sponsored photography expeditions to the Native Americans. The lives and traditions of the Native Americans were captured in photographs and writing and published as a book. Films were made in the Crow Indian Reservation . In 1909 the Battle of Little Big Horn was re-enacted and filmed. During the third expedition (Expedition of Citizenship) in 1913, Indian tribes were photographed. In 1909, Wanamaker presented the project of a large monument ("National American Indian Memorial") for the Native American people. But this project was never realized. Wanamaker bought a large number of war bonds during World War I. He sponsored the Victory Parade for General John J. Pershing and his soldiers. After the war he financed the rebuilding of a school in Sarcus (France). A fountain in Sarcus is reminiscent of Wanamaker.
Wanamaker owned a villa (La Guerida "bounty of war") in Palm Beach (Florida); The architect of the villa built in 1923 was Addison Mizner. He also owned a town house on Spruce Street in Philadelphia. In New York he owned a residence near Washington Square Park. He also owned a villa in Atlantic City. He also owned a country house near his parents' home in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
Picture gallery
The Wanamaker Organ
Curtiss Model H America
National American Indian Memorial (1913)
1933 PGA Champion Gene Sarazen with the Wanamaker Trophy
Wanamaker Fountain in Sarcus, France
Mausoleum of the Wanamaker family near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
literature
- Joseph K. Dixon: The Vanishing Race
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wanamaker, Lewis Rodman |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American businessman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 13, 1863 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Philadelphia |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 9, 1928 |
| Place of death | Atlantic City |