Benjamin Buttenwieser

Benjamin Joseph Buttenwieser (1900 – December 31, 1991) was an American banker, philanthropist and civic leader in New York.

Biography

Buttenwieser was born to a Jewish family^[1] and entered Columbia College at age 15 and graduated in 1919. He eventually became a partner of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and director of many companies, including Revlon; Benrus Watch; Tischman Realty and others. Buttenwieser married Helen Lehman Buttenwieser in 1929. His wife was an attorney for Alger Hiss. Their activism landed him on the master list of Nixon political opponents.

The Buttenwieser Professorship at Columbia University was established in 1958 with a gift to the University from Buttenwieser, a longtime University Trustee and clerk of the Trustees, in honor of his father, Joseph. He was also a trustee of Lenox Hill Hospital and the New York Philharmonic. He was also a president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.

Personal life

In 1929, Buttenwieser married Helen Lehman, the daughter of Arthur Lehman, then senior partner at Lehman Brothers. His wife was one of the first women admitted to the City Bar Association of New York and in 1979, became the first chairwoman of the Legal Aid Society. They had three sons: Lawrence B. Buttenwieser, Peter L. Buttenwieser, and Paul A. Buttenwieser.^[2] Funeral services were held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.^[2]

References

• Trimel, Suzanne (September 9, 1996). Social Scientist Charles Tilly Joins Columbia Faculty.
• The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, 1940, volume 2, p. 610.
• English, Bella (July 29, 1999). Family Man: Arts patron also champions a tradition of social justice and philanthropy. Boston Globe