Owsley Brown Frazier
| Owsley Brown Frazier | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 7, 1935 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Died | August 16, 2012 (aged 77) Louisville, Kentucky |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Executive, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Philanthropy |
Owsley Brown Frazier (May 7, 1935 – August 16, 2012) was a philanthropist from Louisville, Kentucky United States who founded the Frazier History Museum. He retired from the board of directors of the Brown-Forman corporation, which his grandfather George Garvin Brown founded in 1870, and is one of the largest American-owned companies in the spirits and wine business. He was raised in Louisville.
Frazier was Vice-Chairman and the public face of Brown-Forman from 1983 until his retirement in 2000, but he remained on the board of directors. He first worked for the company as a trainee in 1955. After graduating from the University of Louisville he became the company's lawyer in 1960, then joined the board of directors and became director of personnel in 1964.
Frazier owned Bittners, LLC a 150-year-old interior design, architectural and furniture business in Louisville.
He served as director of Greater Louisville Inc. and the Kentucky Economic Development Corporation. He was an early co-chairman of the board to study building the KFC Yum! Center. He also served on the board of Louisville-based Papa John's Pizza.
He was appointed by Kentucky Governor Paul Patton and reappointed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher to serve on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees.
Frazier was recognized as one of the leading individual donors to Jewish Hospital/Frazier Rehab, Bellarmine University, Kentucky Country Day and the University of Louisville, of which he was a lifetime member of the Board of Trustees. He was a leading donor to Jewish Hospital in Louisville, including the Frazier Rehab Institute, which is named after his mother.
In 2004, it was estimated that he had given over $500 million to charity throughout his life.
For much of his life, Frazier collected historic guns and knives. His collection began with a long rifle, made circa 1820 in Bardstown, Kentucky and given to him by his grandfather. This rifle was permanently lost in the tornado which hit Louisville during the 1974 Super Outbreak, and Frazier credited the event with sparking his interest in collecting historic weapons on a larger scale. His collection included weapons such as Theodore Roosevelt's "Big Stick", a 1866 Winchester carbine owned by Buffalo Bill Cody and guns used by General George Armstrong Custer. Most of the weapons were from 1840 to 1910.
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