John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Fellowships to Assist Research and Artistic Creation

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The Family of John Simon Guggenheim

John Simon Guggenheim was the son of Simon Guggenheim, one of seven brothers whose father Meyer Guggenheim came to Philadelphia from Switzerland in 1848. Meyer Guggenheim created a successful business importing lace, but made an investment in Colorado silver mines that put the Guggenheim family into the mining and smelting business, a business (the American Smelting and Refining Company or ASARCO) that expanded to include copper and nitrates not only in Colorado, but eventually in Mexico, Alaska, Chile, and other places around the world.

Five of the brothers participated in the business activities of the family: Daniel, Murry, Isaac, Solomon, and Simon. The two younger brothers were Ben and William. Ben went down on the Titanic in 1912, but left a daughter, Peggy Guggenheim, who became a well known figure in the modern art world. William's grandson William Guggenheim III can be reached by email.

Daniel Guggenheim became the head of the family in 1905 and was an avid promoter of aviation and rocketry. Aeronautic institutes that he funded exist at various universities around the country. His foundation still makes grants.

Daniel's son Harry Frank Guggenheim, the founder of Newsday, also created his own foundation, one that has for its primary focus the study of the nature and causes of aggression.

Murry Guggenheim funded a major dental clinic for the poor of New York. When the state took on that responsibility, his benefactions went mostly toward New York hospitals.

Solomon Guggenheim collected art and funded various museum projects until Frank Lloyd Wright joined him to create the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, which is supported by Solomon's foundation, now chaired by his grandson Peter Lawson-Johnson.

Shortly before her death, Peggy Guggenheim deeded her art collection and villa in Venice to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

Simon Guggenheim became a senator from Colorado in 1907 for one term. He had two sons, both of whom died young, and he and his wife Olga Hirsch Guggenheim went on to devote their resources to this Foundation, both during their lifetimes and in bequests after their deaths. There are no more heirs of Simon Guggenheim. Roger Straus, Jr., a grandnephew of Simon Guggenheim, was until his recent demise an emeritus member of the Foundation's Board of Trustees.

For further information about the Guggenheim family, see John H. Davis, The Guggenheims (1848-1988): An American Epic (Morrow, 1978; Shapolsky, 1989).

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