Ewing Marion Kauffman
| Ewing Kauffman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Ewing Marion Kauffman September 21, 1916 Near Garden City, Missouri, United States |
| Died | August 1, 1993 (aged 76) Mission Hills, Kansas, United States |
| Cause of death | Bone cancer |
| Alma mater | • Westport High School • Longview Community College |
| Occupation | American pharmaceutical entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball team owner |
Ewing Marion Kauffman (September 21, 1916 – August 1, 1993) was an American pharmaceutical entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball owner.
Born on a farm near Garden City, Missouri, the son of John S. Kauffman and the former Effie May Winders, Kauffman grew up with his sister Irma Ruth Kauffman in Kansas City, Missouri. He was bedridden for a year at age 11 with a heart ailment, during which he read as many as 40 books a month.
Kauffman graduated from Kansas City's Westport High School in 1934, and later attended Kansas City Junior College, a predecessor to Metropolitan Community College.
He was an Eagle Scout and as an adult would be awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.
After completing his Associate Degree, Kauffman enlisted in the United States Navy serving as a Sailor on a ship during World War II. After leaving the Navy, he worked as a pharmaceutical salesman until 1950, when he formed Marion Laboratories with a $5,000 investment, operating it initially out of the basement of his home. He reportedly chose to use his middle name rather than his last name in order to not appear to be a one-man operation.
Marion Laboratories – with Kauffman as chairman – had revenues of $930 million the year before it merged, in 1989, with Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals to form Marion Merrell Dow. The company sale made more than 300 millionaires. Following the merger, Kauffman became chairman emeritus of the merged company.
Kauffman established the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the mid-1960s with the same sense of opportunity he brought to his business endeavors, and, with the same convictions. Kauffman wanted his foundation to be innovative – to fundamentally change people's lives. He wanted to help young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, get a quality education that would enable them to reach their full potential. He saw building enterprise as one of the most effective ways to realize individual promise and spur the economy. Today, the mission of the Kauffman Foundation follows his vision by focusing its grant making and operations on two areas: advancing entrepreneurship and improving the education of children and youth.
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