Murray Isaac Lender (October 29, 1930 – March 21, 2012) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who helped expand his father's small,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

bagel A bagel (; ; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. ...

bakery,

Lender's Bagels Lender's Bagels is a brand of bagels that pioneered the pre-packaged bagel industry in the United States. Established in 1927 in New Haven, Connecticut, by the Lender family, it became a North American leader in the marketing, distribution and sal ...

, into a nationwide brand. Murray Lender served as the chief executive officer of Lender's, while his brother, Marvin, served as the company's president. Under Murray Lender, Lender's Bagels began selling frozen bagels to supermarkets in 1960, introducing many American consumers to the bagel for the first time. The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' called Lender "the most important man in the modern history of bagels." Murray Lender also became known to the public for appearing in a series of

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

s for Lender's Bagels. Murray Lender's father, Harry Lender, immigrated from

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, to the United States in 1927. That same year, Harry opened a small bagel bakery in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, which catered to the city's Eastern European

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community. His wife, Rose Braiter Lender, and their two oldest children, Hyman and Sam, followed Harry Lender to the United States in 1929. Murray Lender was born in

, on October 29, 1930. He graduated from Junior College of Commerce, which is now known as

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

. Later, as chairman of Quinnipiac's Board of Trustees, he heard Quinnipiac President John L. Lahey give talks on the history of the Great Hunger in Ireland, and as a result donated funds to create the

Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum Ireland's Great Hunger Museum () was founded in 2012 in Hamden, Connecticut as part of Quinnipiac University to document and educate the public on the Irish Great Famine of 1845–1852, as well as its causes and consequences. In addition to lite ...

at Quinnipiac. "A lot of Irish and Irish American artists and supporters helped to make this day possible, but without the support of a son of a Jewish immigrant from Poland who saw parallels in our experience we wouldn't be ...(able to).. dedicate this new facility. That's a proof of how important this story is to all immigrants," Lahey said. All four brothers - Hyman, Sam, Harry and Marvin - entered the family's bagel business, called H. Lender's and Sons. Harry Lender died in 1958 and the brothers began freezing bagels for sale in 1960. Murray also came up with the idea of pre-slicing bagels. Murray Lender and his family sold Lender's Bagels to

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

in 1984. The brand was acquired by the Pinnacle Foods Group in 2003. Murray Lender died at a hospital in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, on March 21, 2012, at the age of 81. He had suffered injuries in a fall ten weeks earlier at his home in

Aventura, Florida Aventura is a planned suburban city in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, north of Miami and part of the Miami metropolitan area. The city is especially known for Aventura Mall, the third largest mall in the United State ...

. He was survived by his children Carl Lender, Haris Lender and

Jay Lender Jay Lender (born June 14, 1969) is an American television writer, storyboard artist and director. He is a former writer and storyboard director for ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. Previous to his work on ''SpongeBob'', Lender designed and drew backgro ...

and 6 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lender, Murray 1930 births 2012 deaths American chief executives of food industry companies Quinnipiac University alumni Businesspeople from New Haven, Connecticut People from Aventura, Florida Accidental deaths in Florida Accidental deaths from falls 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews Bagels 21st-century American Jews