Daniel Guggenheim - Biography

Daniel Guggenheim (July 9, 1856 – September 28, 1930) was an American industrialist and philanthropist, and a son of Meyer Guggenheim.

Biography

Born in Philadelphia, Daniel Guggenheim won a lead-silver price war with ASARCO in 1900, and the Guggenheims took over ASARCO in 1901. Daniel moved aggressively to add mining and smelting properties to the Guggenheim's mining empire. When World War I broke out in 1914, Daniel was ready to ramp up copper production worldwide to aid the Allied war effort—and the Guggenheim profits.

Murray N. Rothbard's Wall Street, Banks and American Foreign Policy, has a significant amount of information pertaining to Daniel Guggenheim, brother of Simon Guggenheim and son of Meyer Guggenheim. He was a member of the National Security League, the driving force for moving the then-neutral USA into World War I, which was headed by J.P. Morgan.

Aviation

During the war, Daniel's son Harry Guggenheim became a pilot and both became avid supporters of aviation technology. In the 1920s they established the Daniel Guggenheim Medal for achievement in aeronautics and provided grants for aeronautics research at California Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Northwestern University, Stanford University, Syracuse University, the University of Akron, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington.

Alaska

Guggehheim also sparked controversy in the district of Alaska from 1906 onward. He was approached by Stephen Birch, a wealthy miner with big hopes for the development of Alaska and its railroads, in regards to financing Birch's developing copper claims. Guggenheim and his brother formed a gentlemen's agreement with Birch to form the Alaska Syndicate, which purchased just under half of the stock in Birch's company and all of the stock in the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. All of this sparked an "anti-Guggenheim" movement which was integral in political elections and appointments of 1908 in Alaska.

Death

He died on September 28, 1930.

See also

• Guggenheim family

External links

• | Guggenheim, Daniel - Overview, Personal Life, Career Details, Social and Economic Impact, Chronology: Daniel Guggenheim
• National Mining Hall of Fame Inductee Bio
• Daniel and Harry Guggenheim – Supporters of Aviation Technology
• Daniel Guggenheim Medal recipients