Eugene Simeon Benjamin (January 21, 1862 – June 21, 1941) was a Jewish-American business executive and philanthropist from New York.

Life

Benjamin was born on January 21, 1862, in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

, the son of Alfred Benjamin and Sophie Wolf. His father was an English immigrant from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, and his mother was from New York. Benjamin came to

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, when he was a child and received a public school education. He began his business career as a clerk when he was fourteen. He became president of the firm Alfred Benjamin and Company, holding that position until 1913. He then served as a partner of I. S. Woolf and Company from 1915 to 1921. He was also a trade advisor for the Irving Bank and Trust Company until 1932. Active in Jewish charitable activities, he served as president of the Baron de Hirsch Fund from 1900 to 1922, after which he became its managing director. He was also president of the Woodbine Land Improvement Company, vice-president of the Jewish Agricultural Society, and a founder of the National Conference of Jewish Charities. In 1933, he wrote ''Practical Credit Analysis'', which became a widely used textbook. He worked as a wholesale clothier and silk manufacturer, bank director, and advisor on commercial credits. Benjamin was a member of the

Ethical Culture Society The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement, Ethical Humanism or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler (1851–1933).

and the Century Country Club. In 1890, he married Miriam Gutman. They had one child, Alfred. Benjamin died at home from a long illness on June 21, 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Eugene S. 1862 births 1941 deaths American people of English-Jewish descent People from Leavenworth, Kansas 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from New York City American chief executives 20th-century American philanthropists Philanthropists from New York (state)