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Philip W. Lown Papers

 Collection
Identifier: P-162

Scope and Content Note

This collection contain minutes, correspondence, speeches, photographs and newspaper clippings related to Lown’s activities in the American Association for Jewish Educations, B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, Brandeis University, Hebrew College, Maine Jewish Council, World Council on Jewish Education, Y.M.C.A. of Auburn Maine, and in various Zionist activities.

The collection also contains autobiographical memoirs and notes, biographical notes, Lown’s writings, speeches, personal correspondence, and honors. Correspondence contains the educational views of many prominent American Jewish scholars, including Horace M. Kallen, Milton Konvitz, Nachum Goldmann, Abram L. Sachar and Rudolf G. Sonneborn. A handwritten letter from David Ben-Gurion, as well as photographs of Lown with Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir, are also in the collection.

Dates

  • undated, 1913-1975

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in English.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for researcher use. Please contact us to request access or to make an appointment to view this collection at jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of this collection. For more information contact jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Biographical Note

Philip W. Lown was born in Lithuania in 1890, which was then occupied by Russia, on the seventh day of Hanukah. When he was eleven, he attended a rabbinical school in Vilna. At the age of fourteen or fifteen he participated in the Russian Revolution in Lithuania in which he protested the czar and risked the brutality of the Cossacks in 1905. After the Revolution was crushed, he needed to escape the social unrest and poor living conditions so he immigrated to the United States in 1907, part of a mass exodus of Lithuanians from their country during 1868-1914.

In the United States, Lown found work as a milkman, a paper hanger, and a shoe factory worker in Maine. He hired a private teacher to obtain an elementary education so he could go to Lynn Classical high school at age twenty-two. When he turned twenty-five, Lown attended the University of Maine in 1914 and received his B.S. in 1918 for chemical engineering. When World War I began in 1914, Lown joined the army and worked as a researcher to combat chemical warfare. After he served his new country, he worked for seven years in the textile dyes industry. He proved himself successful in business and purchased a factory. When the business became less profitable he sold it and in 1926 became a joint owner of Pilgrim Shoe Company. He later became president of Penobscot Shoe Company in Old Town, Maine and Lown Shoes, Inc., in Auburn, Maine.

Starting in 1937, Lown invested his profits into the small Jewish community in Maine and tried to help Jews that faced danger in Europe. Until his death in 1976, he worked tirelessly on boards for Jewish education: the American Association for Jewish Education, B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, Maine Jewish Council, World Council on Jewish Education, and the Y.M.C.A. of Auburn, Maine, amongst others. He established Camp Lown in 1946, a summer camp for children that focused on teaching Jewish history and education. He founded the Lown School for Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and the Graduate Center for Contemporary Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, became the President and Chairman of Hebrew College in Massachusetts and served as President of the American Association for Jewish Education, the Y.M.C.A. of Auburn Maine, and the Community Chest of Lewiston, Maine. Lown also became involved in Zionist activities and was present at a meeting on July 1, 1945, where he met with David Ben-Gurion and helped plan critical assistance to the Hagana. He received countless awards and honors for his work in Zionism, Jewish education in America, and Jewish communal institutions.

Lown received his Doctorate at University of Maine and Brandeis University. His first wife, Anna, was born in New York in 1900. His second wife, Sally Lown, was also dedicated to Jewish education and was present with Lown in many of his activities. He worked with the same organizations into his late eighties, up until his death on November 1, 1976 at Miami Beach.

References

  1. Materials from the collection.
  2. Encyclopedia Britannica. “Lithuania.” 2012. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/343803/Lithuania> May 24, 2012.
  3. The Lewiston Daily Sun November 3, 1976. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19761103&id=GT0pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3WUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2538,444986> May 31, 2012.

Chronology

1890
Born in Lithuania.
1901
Attended Rabbinical School in Vilna, Lithuania.
1905
Participated in Russian Revolution in Lithuania.
1907
Arrived in Boston, Massachusetts.
1911
Attended Lynn Classical High School.
1914
Served in United States Army as a researcher to combat chemical warfare.
1914-1918
Attended University of Maine and received B.S. in Chemical Engineering.
1926
Became joint owner of Pilgrim Shoe Co.
1937
Became involved in Jewish Education in New England.
1939
Helped to form Maine Jewish Council for United Jewish Appeal.
1946
Camp Lown opened in Oakland, Maine.
1953
Chairman of the Second National Conference for Jewish Education.
1955
President of American Association for Jewish Education.
1959
Chairman, Program Committee, B’nai B’rith Hillel Committee.
1961
Received Henrietta Szold award from Boston University.
1961
Received the 14th Annual T. Kenyon Holly Memorial Plaque.
1972
Lown School for Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Graduate Center for Contemporary Jewish Studies opened at Brandeis University.
1976
Died at Miami Beach on November 1st.

Extent

1 linear feet (2 manuscript boxes)

Abstract

Philip W. Lown was a businessman, philanthropist, and leading figure in the Jewish Community. In 1926, he became a joint owner of the Pilgrim Shoe Company in Auburn, Maine, and later president of Penobscot Shoe Company and Lown Shoes Inc. Starting in 1937 and up to his death, Lown worked philanthropically within the Jewish community, most notably in Jewish education. He served on such boards as the American Association for Jewish Education, the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, and the World Council on Jewish Education. He also founded the Lown School of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and the Graduate Center for Contemporary Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. This collection contains Lown’s autobiographical and biographical memoirs, writings, speeches, notes, personal correspondence, honors, photographs, and news clippings.

Physical Location

Located in Boston, Mass.

Acquisition Information

Acquistion information is unknown.

Processing Information

Processed by Lael Dalal and Kelsey Sawyer, 2012

Title
Guide to the Philip W. Lown Papers, P-162
Author
Processed by Lael Dalal and Kelsey Sawyer
Date
2012
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors Repository

Contact:
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