José Mindlin
| José Ephim Mindlin | |
|---|---|
 José Mindlin | |
| Born |
September 8, 1914 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Died | February 28, 2010 (aged 95) |
| Nationality | Brazillian |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Businessperson |
| Spouse(s) | Guita Mindlin (died 2006) |
José Ephim Mindlin (September 8, 1914 – February 28, 2010) was a Brazilian lawyer, businessperson and bibliophile, born to Russian Jewish parents from Odessa.[1] He was the owner of the largest private library in Latin America, with more than 38,000 titles. A large number (about half) of the collection was donated to the University of São Paulo in May 2006, mostly regarding Brazilian studies. In March 23, 2013 a building was built in the university's campus specifically to maintain this massive library, named after the Guita and José Mindlin Foundation, who made the donation.[2] Mindlin had said he wanted to keep the library alive through the continuous growth of the collection and scientific contributions by academics.
Son of dentist Ephim Mindlin and of Fanny Mindlin, both born in Odessa, he graduated from the University of São Paulo law school. He worked as a lawyer for 15 years, until he founded with some friends Metal Leve, an automobile piston company, which went on to become a large international player in the automobile parts industry. After years of successful management of the firm as a Director, the opening of the Brazilian markets in the 1990s has reduced Metal Leve's profits, and he and his business associates had to sell the firm in 1996 to German firm Mahle Group.
After retiring from the business world, Mindlin was able to dedicate his time to a passion he had since he was 13: collecting and preserving rare books. The first rare edition in his collection was Discours sur l'Histoire universelle (Speech of Universal History), by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, published in 1740.
In 20 June 2006, Mindlin was elected member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras, occupying chair number 29, left open since the death of Brazilian author Josué Montello.
He was also a member of the Vitae Foundation and is the editor of Edusp publishing firm.
Mindlin was married to Guita Mindlin, who died in 2006,[3] and they had 4 children and 11 grandchildren.
He died from a multiple organ failure at the age of 95 on February 28, 2010.
References
- ↑ :: CREMESP – Conselho Regional de Medicina do Estado de São Paulo
- ↑ http://g1.globo.com/sao-paulo/noticia/2013/03/usp-inaugura-biblioteca-com-colecao-de-livros-raros-de-jose-mindlin.html USP inaugura biblioteca com coleção de livros raros de José Mindlin (in Portuguese). G1. Access in March 24, 2012
- ↑ " Guita Mindlin, amiga dos livros, morre aos 89 anos", published in O Estado de S.Paulo 26 June 2006, retrieved 9 Sept 2007
External links
- (Portuguese) Articles of Incorporation of the Guita and José Mindlin Library
- Vitae Foundation
- Edusp (University of São Paulo Press)
- José Mindlin at the Academia Brasileira de Letras
- (Portuguese) Interview with José Mindlin
- (Portuguese) Bravo! magazine interview
- (Portuguese) 100 books recommended by Jose Mindlin
- (Portuguese) Isto É magazine
| Preceded by Josué Montello |
 Brazilian Academy of Letters - Occupant of the 29th chair 2006–2010 |
Succeeded by Geraldo Holanda Cavalcanti |
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