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Lewisohn, Leonard

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

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American merchant and philanthropist; born in Hamburg Oct. 10, 1847; died in London March 5, 1902. His father, Samuel Lewisohn, a prominent Hamburg merchant, sent him to the United States in 1863; about three years later he was joined by his younger brother, and they formed the firm of Lewisohn Brothers in Jan., 1866. As early as 1868 the firm turned its attention to the metal trade, becoming prominent dealers inlead during that year. Recognizing the commercial future of electricity and the need of copper for conducting-wires, Lewisohn specialized in that metal, and by 1879 was recognized as an important holder of "Lake Copper." Thenceforward his firm occupied a leading position in the copper markets of the world. He was also president of the United Metals Selling Company.

Lewisohn was equally prominent in the sphere of philanthropy. He contributed largely to the Alliance colony in New Jersey, founded in 1882, and to almost every philanthropic institution in New York, regardless of creed. He likewise acted as treasurer of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society in New York, to which institution he gave his counsel and large sums of money. He was one of the largest contributors to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and to the Montefiore Sanatorium for Consumptives.