Joseph Regenstein (1889 – 1957) was probably the son of Martin R. (* 1874 in Pasing near Munich – 1909 in Chicago) and
Theodore Regensteiner
Theodore Regensteiner (born May 17, 1868, in Munich, Germany, to Albert (Abraham) (?-1904 in Pasing) from Pflaumloch and his first wifeTheodore Regensteiner (1943) My First Seventy Five Years, page 16 Fannie, née Heymann. He had an older brother S ...
s nephew.
[Gudrun Azar et al. 'Ins Licht gerückt. Jüdische Lebenswege im Münchner Westen'. München 2008, page 159-160] He was an American industrialist whose philanthropy benefited the city of
Chicago, especially the
University of Chicago, where the
Regenstein Library is named in his memory.
As head of Arvey Corp., Regenstein made many innovations in the paper, plastic and chemical fields. In 1931, Regenstein formed a business with his cousin, Julius Hyman, the
Velsicol Chemical Corporation that manufactured several chlorinated insecticides including
Dieldrin
Dieldrin is an organochloride originally produced in 1948 by J. Hyman & Co, Denver, as an insecticide. Dieldrin is closely related to aldrin, which reacts further to form dieldrin. Aldrin is not toxic to insects; it is oxidized in the insect to fo ...
,
Aldrin,
Chlordane and
Heptachlor which were the focus of
Rachel Carson's book ''
Silent Spring''. Regenstein and Hyman would later fall out when Hyman set up an independent business in Colorado to manufacture insecticides at the
Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Numerous lawsuits followed.
Regenstein maintained an intense interest in the development of Chicago and its institutions. To honor him, the Joseph and Helen Regenstein Foundation, on November 9, 1965, gave $10,000,000 toward the new graduate research library at University of Chicago. His son
Joseph Regenstein Jr
Joseph Regenstein Jr. (4 November 1923 – 4 March 1999) was an American business leader and philanthropist who donated more than $105 million to various Chicago area institutions as President of the Joseph and Helen Regenstein Foundation.
The ...
was a life trustee of the university until his death on March 4, 1999, at age 75.
Literature
* Gudrun Azar et al. 'Ins Licht gerückt. Jüdische Lebenswege im Münchner Westen'. München 2008, 159–160, Herbert Utz Verlag, (Katalog der gleichnamigen Ausstellung in der Pasinger Fabrik, 10. April bis 25. Mai 2008).
Link
*
Theodore Regensteiner
Theodore Regensteiner (born May 17, 1868, in Munich, Germany, to Albert (Abraham) (?-1904 in Pasing) from Pflaumloch and his first wifeTheodore Regensteiner (1943) My First Seventy Five Years, page 16 Fannie, née Heymann. He had an older brother S ...
Regensteiner-Linde in Pasing''Helenes Linde'' Sueddeutsche Zeitung
*
Automobilwerk Pasing Siegfried Regensteiner
References
The Joseph Regenstein Library Building
1889 births
1957 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century philanthropists
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