Stephen P. Mugar
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Stephen Pabbken Mugar (March 5, 1901 – October 16, 1982) was an
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
n businessman in the United States. He was the founder of the Star Market chain of supermarkets in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. He was also a philanthropist, and is regarded as having been the most prominent member of the Mugar family of
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...
.


Biography

Mugar was born March 5, 1901, in Kharpert (Harpoot) in the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(present-day
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
), of
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
parents. His father, Sarkis, and mother, Vosgitel, and his two sisters, Alice and Mary, whose family name was shortened from ''Mugardichian'', were Armenians who came to the United States from the Ottoman Empire in 1906 to join his father's brothers who owned a restaurant on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. Another sister, Helen, was born after their arrival in Massachusetts. The
1910 United States census The 1910 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census ...
shows the family in the 19th Ward of Boston and lists Sarkis Mugar's occupation as "waiter in restaurant." In 1916, Sarkis Mugar paid $800 for the Star Market, a small grocery store at 28 Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown, and Stephen eventually went to work for his father in the store. Sarkis Mugar died in June 1924, due to complications from an automobile accident. The death resulted in 23-year-old Stephen taking over the Star Market to support his mother, himself, and his sisters. The second Star Market was opened in Newtonville in 1932 and the third one was opened in Wellesley in 1937. In the 1930s, Stephen Mugar married Marian Graves (born June 29, 1901, in Saugus), and they had two children: David G. Mugar and Carolyn Mugar. After the war ended and wartime restrictions and shortages were over, Stephen worked with his younger cousin John M. Mugar to expand Star Market throughout Greater Boston to meet the increased affluence and consumer demand. The second Star Market in Newtonville opened in 1948 and was the Mugar's first supermarket. It was the prototype of the other modern supermarkets that Stephen and John opened during this period. Meats and produce were packaged in cellophane wrappers to make them more appealing to consumers. A conveyor belt carried bags of groceries to a central pickup station by the parking lot. Customers, tired of no self-service at stores such as A&P, or self-service but little else at First National Stores (
Finast Finast was a retail supermarket brand that started in the northeastern United States, with headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts. Finast was a syllabic abbreviation for "First National Stores." Commonly referred to as "The First National", ...
), came from miles around to patronize the new Star Market. Stephen and Marian Mugar lived in Watertown and later in Belmont for many years. The family business was based in Boston, then moved further out to Burlington. Stephen Mugar died at
Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...
in Boston on October 16, 1982, and was buried in
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...
. Marian Mugar died in Belmont on November 29, 1984, and was buried next to her husband. Their son David became a business leader and philanthropist in his own right, while their daughter Carolyn became an activist and went on to serve as executive director of Farm Aid and founded the Armenia Tree Project, a reforestation project in Armenia.


Philanthropic giving

After making his fortune in the Star Market business, Stephen P. Mugar became a generous contributor to educational institutions and Armenian causes locally and abroad. These include: ;Armenian Assembly of America The Armenian Assembly of America is a non-profit group aimed at increased Armenian-American participation in the American democratic process as well as assisting in humanitarian and development programs in Armenia. Stephen Mugar gave generously during his lifetime and his estate in 1984 gave $1 million to help launch its endowment fund. ;Mugar Hall at Tufts The Mugar Hall at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
was given in memory of his parents. ;Mugar Library at Haigazian University The Mugar Library at Haigazian University, an Armenian institution in
Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, was given in memory of his parents. ;Mugar Life Sciences Building at Northeastern The Mugar Life Sciences Building at
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...
, which contains the Departments of Biology, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Chemical Engineering, and laboratories and classrooms, was given in 1963 in memory of his parents. ;Mugar Memorial Library The
Mugar Memorial Library The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery b ...
at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
was given in memory of his parents.


Legacy

;Mugar Omni Theater In 1985, David Mugar gave the money for the Marian G. and Stephen P. Mugar Omni Theater at the
Museum of Science, Boston The Museum of Science (MoS) is a nature and science museum and indoor zoological establishment located in Science Park, a plot of land in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, ...
. ;Armenian Library & Museum of America In 1992, the former Coolidge Bank building in Watertown, which was bought by the
Armenian Library and Museum of America Armenian Museum of America (AMA), located in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States, is an institution that has the largest collection of Armenian culture, Armenian artifacts in North America. History In 1971, alarmed by the growing loss and de ...
in 1988, was dedicated to the memory of Stephen and Marian Mugar. ;Mugar Building at Cape Cod Hospital In 2002, David Mugar gave $5 million to the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis for a new four story wing in memory of Marian and Stephen. ;Endowed Chair of Armenian Genocide Studies Carolyn Mugar and her husband, John O'Connor, shortly before his death on November 30, 2002, made a gift to
Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...
in
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
to establish the Endowed Chair of Armenian Genocide Studies, which is named for "Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar." As of 2008, the holder of the chair was Taner Akcam.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mugar, Stephen P. 1901 births 1982 deaths People from Elazığ People from Mamuret-ul-Aziz vilayet Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States American grocers American food company founders American people of Armenian descent People from Belmont, Massachusetts Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists