Lewis Katz (; January 11, 1942May 31, 2014) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and

newspaper publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

, who was a co-owner of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

''.

Early life

Katz was born to a Jewish familyJewish Exponent: "Philanthropist Is Co-Owner of Papers"
April 4, 2012 in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, on January 11, 1942, and grew up in the Parkside section of the city. He was raised along with his sister, Sandra Katz (Wolff) by their mother, a secretary at

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, after their father died when they were very young.

Career

Katz became a lawyer and businessman, making millions in parking lots, billboards and sports. Katz was a former owner of Kinney Parking Systems, at the time the largest parking company in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and the former chairman of Interstate Outdoor Advertising, one of the largest regional outdoor-advertising firms in the country. He was the majority owner of five radio stations in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

counties at the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

, and a founding partner of the law firm Katz, Ettin & Levine in

Cherry Hill Cherry Hill often refers to: * Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a township in Camden County, New Jersey * Cherry Hill, Prince William County, Virginia, a census-designated place Cherry Hill may also refer to: Places Canada * Cherry Hill, Nova Scotia, a ...

Sports ownership

Katz invested in the two New Jersey sports teams back in 2000. He was part of the YankeeNets/Puck Holdings group along with

Ray Chambers Raymond G. Chambers (born August 7, 1942) is a philanthropist and humanitarian who is the World Health Organization Ambassador for Global Strategy. Chambers' philanthropic efforts are diverse, with major focus areas in global health, mentoring, ...

. The group purchased the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

from their original owner Dr. John McMullen. Katz's ownership involvement of both teams ended in 2003 when the YankeeNets group disintegrated with the Devils being sold to Jeffrey Vanderbeek and the Nets sold to

Bruce Ratner Bruce Ratner (born January 23, 1945, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and former minority owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Family and education Ratner was born into a Jewish family in the Cleveland met ...

. The Devils have since been sold again while the Nets were also sold and moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Philanthropy

Katz was the director of the Katz Foundation, which supports charitable, educational and medical causes. To support pioneering medical research, Katz established an annual prize and endowed a visiting professorship in cardiovascular research at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he served on the board of visitors of the medical school. His $15 million gift to The Dickinson Schools of Law of The

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

helped fund the renovation of historic Trickett Hall at Dickinson Law in Carlisle, PA, and fund the development of a law school building for

Penn State Law Penn State Law, located in University Park, Pennsylvania, was one of two separately accredited law schools of the Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Law offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees. The school also offers a joint J.D./M.B.A ...

in University Park, PA, both of which bear his name. As a native of

, Katz established several programs to help Camden children. Katz donated to Jewish organizations, focused on young Jewish entrepreneurs. Katz was a donor to the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, Congregation Beth El in Voorhees, New Jersey, and the

National Museum of American Jewish History The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum at 101 South Independence Mall East (S. 5th Street) at Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. It was founded in 1976. History With ...

. On October 13, 2015, Temple University's medical school was dedicated as the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.

Personal life and death

In 1966, Katz married Marjorie Nemarow; they had a son, Drew Katz, and a daughter, Melissa Katz. His wife died in 2013, approximately five months before Katz's own death. On May 31, 2014, Katz and six others died when a chartered airplane crashed on takeoff at

Hanscom Field Laurence G. Hanscom Field , commonly known as Hanscom Field, is a public use airport operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority, located outside Boston in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Hanscom is mainly a general aviation airport, ...

and burst into flames. An FAA spokesperson said that the

Gulfstream IV The Gulfstream IV (or G-IV or GIV) and derivatives are a family of twinjet aircraft, mainly for private or Business jet, business use. They were designed and built by Gulfstream Aerospace, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, ...

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...

apparently ran off Runway 11 as the aircraft was departing for

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, failing to become airborne because the

gust lock A gust lock on an aircraft is a mechanism that locks control surfaces and keeps open aircraft doors in place while the aircraft is parked on the ground and non-operational. Gust locks prevent wind from causing unexpected movements of the contro ...

was left engaged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Lewis 1942 births 2014 deaths Accidental deaths in Massachusetts American education businesspeople American mass media owners American newspaper publishers (people) Dickinson College alumni New Jersey Devils executives Lawyers from Camden County, New Jersey New Jersey Nets owners Businesspeople from Camden, New Jersey Temple University alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2014 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews