Benjamin Swig
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Benjamin Swig
| image = Benjamin H. Swig.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = November 17, 1893
| birth_place = Taunton, Massachusetts, U.S.
| birth_name =
| death_date = October 31, 1980 (age 86)
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| education =
| occupation = real estate developer
| known_for = Co-founder of Swig, Weiler & Arnow
| children = Melvin Swig
| spouse = Mae Aronovitz
| father = Simon Swig
| family =
| website =
}}
Benjamin Harrison Swig (born November 17, 1893 - October 31, 1980) was a real estate developer and a philanthropist active in Jewish and non-Jewish communities.{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1980/11/04/archive/benjamin-swig-dead-at-86|title=Benjamin Swig Dead at 86|website=Jta.org|date= November 4, 1980|accessdate= October 1, 2017}}
Biography
Taunton, Massachusetts-born Benjamin Swig was the son of banker and politician Simon Swig and the father of Melvin Swig. After Simon died, Benjamin became treasurer of the Tremont Trust Company in Boston.{{cn|date=August 2022}}
From 1925 to 1945, Benjamin Swig was a real estate operator. He was a partner of the real estate firm Swig, Weiler and Arnow that was founded in 1936,{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/20/nyregion/real-estate-dynasty-is-nearing-the-end.html?mcubz=0|title=Real Estate Dynasty Is Nearing the End|website=The New York Times|date=February 20, 1997|author=Charles V. Bagli|accessdate=October 1, 2017}} which became the Swig company.{{cite web|url=http://www.swigco.com/about/|title=The history|website=Swigco.com|accessdate=October 2, 2017}}
In the 1940s, he moved to San Francisco, which he loved.{{Cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1692079/m1/#track/5|title = Pop Chronicles Interviews #152 - Herb Caen, Art Hoppe, Benjamin Swig}} He bought the Fairmont Hotel in 1945, and later the St. Francis Hotel.{{cite web|url=https://www.jweekly.com/2000/05/12/book-chronicles-one-of-s-f-s-most-influential-jews/|title=Book chronicles one of S.F.s most influential Jews|website=Jweekly.com|date=May 12, 2000|author=Andy Altman-Ohr|accessdate=October 1, 2017}}
In 1956, he purchased the Mission Inn in Riverside. He sold 1,000 artworks and artifacts from the hotel to revitalize its finances to no avail.{{cite web|url=https://missioninnmuseum.org/about/about-inn/|title=About the Inn|website=Missionmuseum.org|accessdate=October 2, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sbsun.com/2017/03/25/learn-about-the-less-glamorous-history-of-riversides-mission-inn-in-new-exhibit/|title=Learn about the less-glamorous history of Riverside's Mission Inn in new exhibit|website=Sbsun.com|date=March 25, 2017|author=Alicia Robinson|accessdate=October 2, 2017}}
In the early 1970s, the troubled elections at the Santa Clara University led the students to picket the Fairmont Hotel to protest against Benjamin Swig, who also served as SCU's Chairman of the board of trustees.{{cite web|url=http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=redwood|title=The Redwood, 1972-1973|website=Scholarcommons.scu.edu|accessdate=October 2, 2017}} After Swig repeatedly petitioned in his favor, the City of San Francisco granted the Key of the City to Sun Myung Moon in 1973.{{cite web|url=https://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Books/40Years/40Years.pdf|title=The early mission, 1959-1971|website=Tparents.org|accessdate=October 2, 2017}}
In 1977, his son Melvin created the Mae and Benjamin Swig Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of San Francisco, the first ever Jewish Studies chair and program at a Catholic university worldwide.{{cite web|url=https://www.usfca.edu/arts-sciences/undergraduate-programs/jewish-studies-and-social-justice/history-advisory-board|title=Our history|website=Usfca.edu|date=May 5, 2015|accessdate=October 2, 2017}}
Other tenures
- Member of the Board of directors of the American Joint Distribution Committee
- Member of the national Boards of the United Jewish Appeal
- Member of the Israel Bond Organization
- Member of the American Jewish Committee
- Member of the Zionist Organization of America
- Member of the Jewish Welfare Board
- Member of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Awards and recognition
- Knighted twice by the Vatican
- Outstanding Civilian Service Medal{{cite web|url=http://www.gsgracenter.org/benjamin-swig-founds-the-men-s-guild-in-1966#!benjamin_swig_1|title=Benjamin Swig Founds the Men's Guild in 1966|website=Gsgracenter.org|accessdate=1 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002071518/http://www.gsgracenter.org/benjamin-swig-founds-the-men-s-guild-in-1966#!benjamin_swig_1|archive-date=2 October 2017|url-status=dead}}
Personal life
Benjamin Swig was married to Mae Aronovitz.{{cite web|url=https://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases/SwigObituary_Sept97.html|title=Richard Swig, Chairman of Fairmont Hotel Management Company, Dead at age 72.|website=Hotel-online.com|date=September 25, 1997|accessdate=October 1, 2017}}{{Cite web|first=Eleanor K. |last=Glaser |author-link= |title=Melvin M. Swig Interviews Conducted by Eleanor K. Glaser|publisher=University of California Berkeley - Jewish Community Federation Leadership Oral History Project |date=1991 |url=https://archive.org/stream/melvinmswigjew00swigrich/melvinmswigjew00swigrich_djvu.txt |accessdate=August 31, 2022}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|title=Dealing from the Heart: A Biography of Benjamin Swig|publisher=Scottwall Assoc|date=2000|author=Bernice Scharlach|isbn=0942087186|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dealingfromheart00scha}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swig, Benjamin Harrison}}
Category:American businesspeople in real estate
Category:Real estate and property developers