Simon Guggenheim
| Simon Guggenheim | |
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United States Senator from Colorado |
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In office March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1913 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas M. Patterson |
| Succeeded by | John F. Shafroth |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 30, 1867 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | November 2, 1941 (aged 73) New York City, New York |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Peirce School of Business Administration |
John Simon Guggenheim (December 30, 1867 – November 2, 1941) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist.
He was the son of Meyer Guggenheim and Barbara Guggenheim, and was the younger brother of Daniel Guggenheim and Solomon R. Guggenheim. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Simon Guggenheim attended Central High School and the Peirce School of Business Administration before settling in Pueblo, Colorado, where he worked as the chief ore buyer for his father's mining and smelting operation, M. Guggenheim’s Sons.
Guggenheim moved to Denver in 1892 and married Olga Hirsch on November 24, 1898, at the iconic Waldorf Astoria New York in Manhattan. To celebrate their marriage, the Guggenheims provided a Thanksgiving dinner to 5,000 poor Manhattan children.
Simon and Olga made their residence in Denver and celebrated the birth of their first child, John Guggenheim, in 1905. To commemorate the event, Guggenheim made an $80,000 donation (equivalent to $2,100,000 in 2016) to the Colorado School of Mines to build a namesake building, Guggenheim Hall. At the time, it was the largest private grant ever made to a state institution.
In 1907, Olga gave birth to their second son, George Guggenheim. In 1909, he donated a Law Building at University of Colorado. In 1907, Guggenheim was elected as a Republican senator for Colorado from 1907 to 1913. During his time as a senator, he served as a chairman of the Committee to Establish a University of the United States, and Committee on the Philippines. While in Congress, one of his older brothers, Benjamin Guggenheim, died in the RMS Titanic catastrophe. After his term expired, Guggenheim moved to New York.
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