Reuben Runyan Springer (November 16, 1800 – December 10, 1884) was an American businessman and philanthropist in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He was a major contributor to the construction of the city's

Music Hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

, a major musical venue, where a life-size marble statue of him by Preston Powers can be seen.

Life

Springer was born into a large family in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat, seat of Franklin County, Kentucky, Franklin County in the Upland Sou ...

on November 16, 1800. He was the son of the local postmaster, originally from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and a veteran of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, who had fought under Mad Anthony Wayne, and his mother, who was a native of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. At age 13 he left school to become a clerk at the local post office, under his father's supervision. In time, he succeeded his father as postmaster, but found himself disenchanted by the work. Drawn to life on the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

, he got a position with the firm of Taylor, Kilgour & Company, who were wholesale grocers, as a store clerk on one of their steamboats, the ''George Madison'', which transported food between

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. In 1826, he obtained a transfer to a better position on another of the company's boats, the ''George Washington''. In 1830, Springer married Jane Kilgour, the daughter of one of the firm's founders, and became a partner in the company. Within ten years, he had worked so hard that he had become very wealthy, not only in the grocery trade, but also through investments in real estate and the railroads. However, he had destroyed his health in the process. Living in semi-retirement the rest of his life, Springer would travel frequently to Europe, where he acquired a major art collection. He also became a patron of the arts, contributing hugely to the construction of the Cincinnati Music Hall, which was built largely through his own initiative. He also was a major contributor to the formation of the College of Music of Cincinnati. He became a convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and also contributed heavily to the Catholic Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral, located near his home. After his death, his bequest enabled the building of St. Francis Hospital for the indigent and children, which was also the only hospital west of the

Alleghenies The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

with facilities to treat cancer. Springer died childless in 1884 at his home, located at the northeast corner of Seventh and Plum Streets in Cincinnati.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Springer, Reuben R. 1800 births 1884 deaths People from Frankfort, Kentucky American patrons of music Businesspeople from Cincinnati 19th-century American businesspeople Philanthropists from Ohio 19th-century American philanthropists