Samuel Bronfman
Samuel Bronfman,
CC (
February 27,
1889 -
July 10,
1971) was the founder of
Seagrams and a Canadian family dynasty the
Bronfman family.
Born either in
Soroki,
Bessarabia or en route to
Russia, Bronfman was one of eight children of Mindel and Ekiel Bronfman. His parents were refugees who immigrated to
Wapella Saskatchewan, but soon moved to
Brandon,
Manitoba. In 1903, the family bought a hotel business, and Samuel, noting that much of the profit was in alcoholic beverages, set up shop as a distributor, founding the
Distillers Corporation in
Montreal in 1924.
Bronfman built an empire based on the appeal of brand names, including Calvert, Dewars, and Seven Crown, to higher level consumers, and merged with
Joseph E. Seagram & Sons of
Waterloo,
Ontario in 1928. His sales were boosted during the United States' abortive experiment with
prohibition, and he was apparently able to do so while staying within the confines of both
Canadian and
American law, while dealing with unsavory characters and
Chicago bootleggers.
His company, Seagram Co. Ltd., became an international distributor of alcoholic beverages, and is now a diversified conglomerate which includes an entertainment branch.
On
June 21,
1922, he married
Saidye Rosner (
1897 -
July 7,
1995). They had four children:# Aileen Mindel "Minda" Bronfman de Gunzburg (
1925 -
1986)#
Phyllis Lambert (born
January 24,
1927)#
Edgar Miles Bronfman (born
June 20,
1929)#
Charles Rosner Bronfman (born
June 27,
1931)
In 1952, he established the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation, one of Canada's major private granting foundations.He was president of the
Canadian Jewish Congress from 1939 to 1962. In 1971, he helped to establish The Bronfman Building at
McGill University which houses the Desautels Faculty of Management. It was renamed after
Marcel Desautels, who donated CAD $22 million.
Bronfman was made a Companion of the
Order of Canada in 1967.
* Christopher G. Curtis, "Bronfman Family",
The Canadian Encyclopedia: Year 2000 Edition (
1999) - ISBN 0771020996
*
Michael R. Marrus,
Mr. Sam: The Life and Times Samuel Bronfman (
1991) - ISBN 0874515718
*
Peter C. Newman,
Bronfman Dynasty: The Rothschilds of the New World (
1978; U.S. title:
King of the Castle: The Making of a Dynasty) ISBN 0771067585
*
Bronfman family
