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{{short description|American businessman (1942–1993)}}
{{short description|American businessman (1942–1993)}}
{{other people}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Reginald Lewis
| name = Reginald Lewis
| image = Reginald-lewis.jpg
| image = Reginald F. Lewis.jpg
| imagesize = 300px
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name = Reginald F. Lewis
| birth_name = Reginald F. Lewis
| birth_date = December 7, 1942
| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|12|7}}
| birth_place = [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], U.S
| birth_place = [[Baltimore]], Maryland, U.S
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|1|19|1942|12|7}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|1|19|1942|12|7}}
| death_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S
| death_place = [[New York City]], New York, U.S.
| parents =
| parents =
| children = Leslie Lewis, [[Christina Lewis]]
| children = 2, including [[Christina Lewis]]
| occupation =
| occupation =
| relations = [[Loida Nicolas-Lewis]] (wife)
| spouse = [[Loida Nicolas-Lewis]]
| alma_mater = [[Virginia State University]]<br />[[Harvard Law School]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Virginia State University]]|[[Harvard Law School]]}}
}}
}}
'''Reginald F. Lewis''' (December 7, 1942 – January 19, 1993), was an American businessman. He was one of the richest [[black American]] men in the 1980s, and the first [[black American]] to build a billion-dollar company, TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theroot.com/billion-dollar-legacy-reginald-f-lewis-incredible-li-1823041385|title=Billion-Dollar Legacy: Reginald F. Lewis' Incredible Life Story Comes to Film|date=15 February 2018 }}</ref>
'''Reginald Frances Lewis''' (December 7, 1942 – January 19, 1993), was an American businessman. He was one of the richest [[Black American]] men in the 1980s, and the first African-American to build a billion-dollar company: [[Beatrice Foods|TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theroot.com/billion-dollar-legacy-reginald-f-lewis-incredible-li-1823041385|title=Billion-Dollar Legacy: Reginald F. Lewis' Incredible Life Story Comes to Film|date=15 February 2018 }}</ref>


In 1993, ''[[Forbes]]'' listed Lewis among the 400 richest Americans, with a [[net worth]] estimated at $400 million dollars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/A-Black-Man-s-Journey-to-the-Forbes-400-List-3045896.php |title = A Black Man's Journey to the Forbes 400 List|date = 10 February 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://articles.latimes.com/1993-01-20/business/fi-1542_1_leveraged-buyout| title = Archives - Los Angeles Times| website = [[Los Angeles Times]]| date = 20 January 1993}}</ref>
In 1993, ''[[Forbes]]'' listed Lewis among the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth estimated at $400 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/A-Black-Man-s-Journey-to-the-Forbes-400-List-3045896.php |title = A Black Man's Journey to the Forbes 400 List|date = 10 February 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-20-fi-1542-story.html| title = Archives - Los Angeles Times| website = Los Angeles Times| date = 20 January 1993}}</ref>


== Early life ==
== Biography ==
⚫
Born in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], Lewis grew up in a middle-class neighborhood. He won a football scholarship to [[Virginia State University|Virginia State University (VSU)]] and joined the Alpha Phi Chapter of [[Kappa Alpha Psi]] while an undergraduate student.<ref name="reginaldflewis">{{cite web |title=Reginald F. Lewis - RFL |url=http://reginaldflewis.com/reginaldflewis.com/legacy-scholarship-fund.html}}</ref> After graduating from VSU with a degree in political science in 1965, he took part in a summer program at Harvard set up by the Rockefeller Foundation that introduced African Americans to the study of law. While there, he made such an impression that Harvard invited him to attend school that fall. At the time, this made him the only person in the 148 year history of [[Harvard Law School]] to be accepted before even applying.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BIOGRAPHY |url=https://reginaldflewis.com/bio/ |access-date=2020-08-25 |website=Reginald F. Lewis |language=en-US}}</ref> He completed his [[Juris Doctor]] degree there in 1968.<ref name="reginaldflewis" />


==Career==
=== Early life ===
⚫
Born in Baltimore, Maryland to Carolyn and Clinton Lewis, Reginald Lewis grew up in a middle-class neighborhood. He won a football scholarship to [[Virginia State University]] (VSU) and joined the Alpha Phi Chapter of [[Kappa Alpha Psi]] while an undergraduate student.<ref name="reginaldflewis">{{cite web |title=Reginald F. Lewis - RFL |url=http://reginaldflewis.com/reginaldflewis.com/legacy-scholarship-fund.html}}</ref> After graduating from VSU with a degree in political science in 1965, he took part in a summer program at Harvard set up by the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] that introduced African Americans to the study of law. While there, he made such an impression that Harvard invited him to attend school that fall. At the time, this made him the only person in the 148-year history of [[Harvard Law School]] to be accepted before even applying.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BIOGRAPHY |url=https://reginaldflewis.com/bio/ |access-date=2020-08-25 |website=Reginald F. Lewis |language=en-US}}</ref> He completed his Juris Doctor at Harvard Law in 1968.<ref name="reginaldflewis" follow @vilznz/>

⚫
=== Career ===
{{unreferenced|date=April 2018|section}}
{{unreferenced|date=April 2018|section}}
Recruited to top New York law firm [[Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP]] immediately after law school, Lewis left to start his own firm two years later. After 15 years as a corporate lawyer with his own practice, he moved to the other side of the table by creating TLC Group L.P., a [[private equity]] firm, in 1983.
Recruited to top New York law firm [[Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP]] immediately after law school, Lewis left to start his own firm two years later. After 15 years as a corporate lawyer with his own practice, he moved to the other side of the table by creating TLC Group L.P., a [[private equity]] firm, in 1983.


His first major deal was the purchase of the McCall Pattern Company, a home sewing pattern business, for $22.5 million. Lewis had learned from a [[Fortune (magazine)|''Fortune'' magazine]] article that the [[JBS USA#Esmark|Esmark]] holding company, which had recently purchased [[Norton Simon]], planned to divest from the [[McCall Corporation|McCall]] Pattern Company, a maker of home sewing patterns founded in 1870. With fewer and fewer people sewing at home, McCall was seemingly on the decline—though it had posted profits of $6 million in 1983 on sales of $51.9 million. At the time, McCall was number two in its industry, holding 29.7 percent of the market, compared to industry leader [[Simplicity Pattern]]s with 39.4 percent.
His first major deal was the purchase of the McCall Pattern Company, a home sewing pattern business, for $22.5 million. Lewis had learned from an article in ''Fortune'' that the [[JBS USA#Esmark|Esmark]] holding company, which recently purchased [[Norton Simon]], planned to divest from the [[McCall Corporation|McCall]] Pattern Company, a maker of home sewing patterns founded in 1870. With fewer people sewing at home, McCall was seemingly on the decline—but it had posted profits of $6 million in 1983 on sales of $51.9 million. At the time, McCall was number two in its industry, holding 29.7 percent of the market, compared to industry leader [[Simplicity Pattern]]s with 39.4 percent.


He managed to negotiate the price down, then raised $1 million himself from family and friends and borrowed the rest from institutional investors and investment banking firm [[First Boston|First Boston Corp]].
He managed to negotiate the price down, then raised $1 million from family and friends and borrowed the rest from institutional investors and investment banking firm [[First Boston|First Boston Corp]].


Within a year, he turned the company around by freeing up capital tied in fixed assets such as building and machinery, and finding a new use for machinery during downtime by manufacturing greeting cards. He then started to recruit managers from rival companies. He further strengthened McCall by containing costs, improving quality, beginning to export to China, and emphasizing new product introductions. This new combination led to the company's most profitable year in its history. With the addition of McCall real estate worth an estimated $6 million that the company retained ownership of, he later sold McCall at a 90-1 return, resulting in a tremendous profit for investors. Lewis's share was 81.7 percent of the $90 million.
Within a year, he turned the company around by freeing capital tied in fixed assets, such as buildings and machinery, and finding a new use for machinery during downtime by manufacturing greeting cards. He then started to recruit managers from rival companies. He strengthened McCall by containing costs, improving quality, beginning to export to China, and emphasizing new product introductions. This combination led to the company's most profitable year in its history. With the addition of McCall real estate worth an estimated $6 million that the company retained ownership, he later sold McCall at a 90-1 return, resulting in a tremendous profit for investors. Lewis's share was 81.7 percent of the $90 million.


In 1987, Lewis bought [[Beatrice Foods|Beatrice International Foods]] from Beatrice Companies for $985 million, renaming it TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/10/business/beatrice-unit-brings-985-million.html |title = BEATRICE UNIT BRINGS $985 MILLION - The New York Times|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 10 August 1987|last1 = Hicks|first1 = Jonathan P.}}</ref> a snack food, beverage, and grocery store conglomerate that was the largest African-American owned and managed business in the U.S. The deal was partly financed through Mike Milken of the maverick investment bank [[Drexel Burnham Lambert]]. In order to reduce the amount needed to finance the [[leveraged buyout]], Lewis came up with a plan to sell off some of the division's assets simultaneous with the takeover.
In 1987, Lewis bought Beatrice International Foods from Beatrice Companies for $985 million, renaming it TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/10/business/beatrice-unit-brings-985-million.html |title = Beatrice unit brings $985 million - the New York Times|newspaper = the New York Times|date = 10 August 1987|last1 = Hicks|first1 = Jonathan P.}}</ref> a snack food, beverage, and grocery store conglomerate that was the largest African-American owned and managed business in the U.S. The deal partly was financed through Mike Milken of the maverick investment bank [[Drexel Burnham Lambert]]. In order to reduce the amount needed to finance the [[leveraged buyout]], Lewis planned to sell some of the division's assets simultaneous with the takeover.

[[File:Reginald F Lewis Office.jpg|thumb|Reginald F Lewis Office]]


When TLC Beatrice reported revenue of $1.8 billion in 1987, it became the first black-owned company to have more than $1 billion in annual sales. At its peak in 1996, TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc. had sales of $2.2 billion and was number 512 on ''Fortune'' magazine's list of 1,000 largest companies.
When TLC Beatrice reported revenue of $1.8 billion in 1987, it became the first black-owned company to have more than $1 billion in annual sales. At its peak in 1996, TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc. had sales of $2.2 billion and was number 512 on ''Fortune'' magazine's list of 1,000 largest companies.


==Philanthropy==
=== Philanthropy ===
In 1987 Lewis established the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, which funded grants of approximately $10 million to various non-profit programs and organizations while he was alive. His first major grant was an unsolicited $1 million to [[Howard University]] in 1988; the federal government matched the grant, making the gift $2 million, which was used to fund an endowment for scholarships, fellowships, and faculty sabbaticals.<ref>[http://www.reginaldflewis.com/beachglamour/legacy.html "Reginald F. Lewis as Philanthropist"]</ref>
In 1987, Lewis established the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, which funded grants of approximately $10 million to various non-profit programs and organizations while he was alive. His first major grant was an unsolicited $1 million to Howard University in 1988; the federal government matched the grant, making the gift $2 million, which was used to fund an endowment for scholarships, fellowships, and faculty sabbaticals.<ref>[http://www.reginaldflewis.com/beachglamour/legacy.html "Reginald F. Lewis as Philanthropist"]</ref>


In 1992, Lewis donated $3 million to [[Harvard Law School]], the largest grant at the time in the school's history.<ref>[http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/fellowships/the-reginald-f.-lewis-fellowships-for-law-teaching.html "The Reginald F. Lewis Fellowships for Law Teaching"]</ref> The school renamed its International Law Center the Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center, the first major facility at Harvard named in honor of an African American.<ref>[http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/administration/facilities/buildings/lewis.html "Building Overview: Lewis International Law Center"]</ref>
In 1992, Lewis donated $3 million to Harvard Law School, the largest grant at the time in the school's history.<ref>[http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/fellowships/the-reginald-f.-lewis-fellowships-for-law-teaching.html "The Reginald F. Lewis Fellowships for Law Teaching"]</ref> The school renamed its International Law Center the Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center, the first major facility at Harvard named in honor of an African American.<ref>[http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/administration/facilities/buildings/lewis.html "Building Overview: Lewis International Law Center"]</ref>


While alive, Lewis made known his desire to support a museum of African American culture. In 2005, the [[Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture]] opened in [[Baltimore]] with the support of a $5 million grant from his foundation.<ref>[http://www.reginaldflewis.com/biography-4.php "Reginald F. Lewis"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305110929/http://www.reginaldflewis.com/biography-4.php |date=2014-03-05 }}</ref> It is the East Coast's largest African American museum occupying an 82,000 square-foot facility with permanent and special exhibition space, interactive learning environments, auditorium, resource center, oral history recording studio, museum shop, café, classrooms, meeting rooms, outside terrace and reception areas.<ref>[http://www.rflewismuseum.org/about/facilities "Reginald F. Lewis Museum Facilities"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422065753/http://www.rflewismuseum.org/about/facilities |date=2015-04-22 }}</ref> It highlights the history and accomplishments of African Americans with a special focus on [[Maryland]]'s African American community. The museum is also a [[Smithsonian Affiliations|Smithsonian affiliate]].
While alive, Lewis made known his desire to support a museum of African-American culture. In 2005, the [[Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture]] opened in Baltimore with the support of a $5 million grant from his foundation.<ref>[http://www.reginaldflewis.com/biography-4.php "Reginald F. Lewis"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305110929/http://www.reginaldflewis.com/biography-4.php |date=2014-03-05 }}</ref> It is the East Coast's largest African-American museum occupying an 82,000 square-foot facility with permanent and special exhibition space, interactive learning environments, auditorium, resource center, oral history recording studio, museum shop, café, classrooms, meeting rooms, outside terrace, and reception areas.<ref>[http://www.rflewismuseum.org/about/facilities "Reginald F. Lewis Museum Facilities"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422065753/http://www.rflewismuseum.org/about/facilities |date=2015-04-22 }}</ref> It highlights the history and accomplishments of African Americans with a special focus on Maryland's African-American community. The museum is also a [[Smithsonian Affiliations|Smithsonian affiliate]].


Lewis was counsel to the New York-based Commission for Racial Injustice.
Lewis was counsel to the New York-based Commission for Racial Injustice.

⚫
=== Death ===
⚫
On January 19, 1993, Lewis died at age 50 from brain cancer. His wife [[Loida Nicolas Lewis]] took over the company a year after his death and sold it in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jonathan P. Hicks |date=January 20, 1993 |title=Reginald F. Lewis, 50, Is Dead; Financier Led Beatrice Takeover |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/20/us/reginald-f-lewis-50-is-dead-financier-led-beatrice-takeover.html}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Lewis was married to [[Loida Nicolas Lewis]], a [[Filipinos|Filipina]] lawyer. They had two daughters, Leslie and [[Christina Lewis|Christina]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-ae-lewis-memoir-20120210-story.html|title = Reginald Lewis' daughter opens up about growing up with her famous father}}</ref>
Lewis was married to Loida Nicolas Lewis, a Filipina lawyer. They had two daughters, Leslie and [[Christina Lewis|Christina]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-ae-lewis-memoir-20120210-story.html|title = Reginald Lewis' daughter opens up about growing up with her famous father| date=10 February 2012 }}</ref> Lewis was Catholic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baltimore buries an honored son Mourners salute Reginald Lewis |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-01-24-1993024001-story.html |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=Baltimore Sun|date=24 January 1993 }}</ref>

⚫
Lewis died at age 50, from [[brain cancer]]. Nicolas-Lewis took over the company a year after his death.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jonathan P. Hicks|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/20/us/reginald-f-lewis-50-is-dead-financier-led-beatrice-takeover.html|title=Reginald F. Lewis, 50, Is Dead; Financier Led Beatrice Takeover|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 20, 1993}}</ref>

A PBS documentary aired in February 2018 and chronicled the life of Lewis.[https://reginaldflewis.com/documentary]

==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
Line 64: Line 66:
* [http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/419/site/default.asp Reginald F. Lewis High School - Baltimore]
* [http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/419/site/default.asp Reginald F. Lewis High School - Baltimore]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110715171143/http://www.reginaldflewisfanclub.com/ Reginald F. Lewis Fan Club]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110715171143/http://www.reginaldflewisfanclub.com/ Reginald F. Lewis Fan Club]

⚫
===Articles===
* [http://www.mikemilken.com/fincareer.taf?page=lewis Reg Lewis, TLC Beatrice international]
* [http://www.mikemilken.com/biography.taf?page=oftensaid Often Said]
* [http://www.afrocentricnews.com/html/beatrice_liquidate.html Afrocentricnews - TLC Beatrice to Liquidate]
* [http://www.vsu.edu/students/organization/kapsi/alphaphi.htm]
* [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TLC-Beatrice-International-Holdings-Inc-Company-History.html] http://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-13/business/fi-2062_1_mccall-pattern

⚫
===Books===
* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471042277/ Amazon.com: Books: "Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?": How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire]
* https://www.amazon.com/America-Wrong-Donald-L-Barlett/dp/0836270010/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347210532&sr=1-1&keywords=america+what+went+wrong
* Amazon.com: Books: Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire, by Lin Hart https://www.amazon.com/Reginald-Lewis-Before-Beatrice-Billion-Dollar/dp/0985347929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452631776&sr=8-1&keywords=Reginald+F.+Lewis+Before+TLC+Beatrice


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:American chief executives of food industry companies]]
[[Category:American chief executives of food industry companies]]
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[[Category:American businesspeople in retailing]]
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[[Category:American grocers]]
[[Category:American manufacturing businesspeople]]
[[Category:American manufacturing businesspeople]]
[[Category:American real estate businesspeople]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in real estate]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Maryland]]
[[Category:American drink industry businesspeople]]
[[Category:American drink industry businesspeople]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in New York (state)]]
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[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
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[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
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[[Category:African-American Catholics]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American lawyers]]

Latest revision as of 21:58, 23 October 2024

For other people named Reginald Lewis, see Reginald Lewis (disambiguation).

Reginald Lewis
Born
Reginald F. Lewis

(1942-12-07)December 7, 1942
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S
DiedJanuary 19, 1993(1993-01-19) (aged 50)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater
SpouseLoida Nicolas-Lewis
Children2, including Christina Lewis

Reginald Frances Lewis (December 7, 1942 – January 19, 1993), was an American businessman. He was one of the richest Black American men in the 1980s, and the first African-American to build a billion-dollar company: TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.[1]

In 1993, Forbes listed Lewis among the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth estimated at $400 million.[2][3]

Biography

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Born in Baltimore, Maryland to Carolyn and Clinton Lewis, Reginald Lewis grew up in a middle-class neighborhood. He won a football scholarship to Virginia State University (VSU) and joined the Alpha Phi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi while an undergraduate student.[4] After graduating from VSU with a degree in political science in 1965, he took part in a summer program at Harvard set up by the Rockefeller Foundation that introduced African Americans to the study of law. While there, he made such an impression that Harvard invited him to attend school that fall. At the time, this made him the only person in the 148-year history of Harvard Law School to be accepted before even applying.[5] He completed his Juris Doctor at Harvard Law in 1968.[4]

Career

[edit]

Recruited to top New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP immediately after law school, Lewis left to start his own firm two years later. After 15 years as a corporate lawyer with his own practice, he moved to the other side of the table by creating TLC Group L.P., a private equity firm, in 1983.

His first major deal was the purchase of the McCall Pattern Company, a home sewing pattern business, for $22.5 million. Lewis had learned from an article in Fortune that the Esmark holding company, which recently purchased Norton Simon, planned to divest from the McCall Pattern Company, a maker of home sewing patterns founded in 1870. With fewer people sewing at home, McCall was seemingly on the decline—but it had posted profits of $6 million in 1983 on sales of $51.9 million. At the time, McCall was number two in its industry, holding 29.7 percent of the market, compared to industry leader Simplicity Patterns with 39.4 percent.

He managed to negotiate the price down, then raised $1 million from family and friends and borrowed the rest from institutional investors and investment banking firm First Boston Corp.

Within a year, he turned the company around by freeing capital tied in fixed assets, such as buildings and machinery, and finding a new use for machinery during downtime by manufacturing greeting cards. He then started to recruit managers from rival companies. He strengthened McCall by containing costs, improving quality, beginning to export to China, and emphasizing new product introductions. This combination led to the company's most profitable year in its history. With the addition of McCall real estate worth an estimated $6 million that the company retained ownership, he later sold McCall at a 90-1 return, resulting in a tremendous profit for investors. Lewis's share was 81.7 percent of the $90 million.

In 1987, Lewis bought Beatrice International Foods from Beatrice Companies for $985 million, renaming it TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.,[6] a snack food, beverage, and grocery store conglomerate that was the largest African-American owned and managed business in the U.S. The deal partly was financed through Mike Milken of the maverick investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert. In order to reduce the amount needed to finance the leveraged buyout, Lewis planned to sell some of the division's assets simultaneous with the takeover.

Reginald F Lewis Office

When TLC Beatrice reported revenue of $1.8 billion in 1987, it became the first black-owned company to have more than $1 billion in annual sales. At its peak in 1996, TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc. had sales of $2.2 billion and was number 512 on Fortune magazine's list of 1,000 largest companies.

Philanthropy

[edit]

In 1987, Lewis established the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, which funded grants of approximately $10 million to various non-profit programs and organizations while he was alive. His first major grant was an unsolicited $1 million to Howard University in 1988; the federal government matched the grant, making the gift $2 million, which was used to fund an endowment for scholarships, fellowships, and faculty sabbaticals.[7]

In 1992, Lewis donated $3 million to Harvard Law School, the largest grant at the time in the school's history.[8] The school renamed its International Law Center the Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center, the first major facility at Harvard named in honor of an African American.[9]

While alive, Lewis made known his desire to support a museum of African-American culture. In 2005, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture opened in Baltimore with the support of a $5 million grant from his foundation.[10] It is the East Coast's largest African-American museum occupying an 82,000 square-foot facility with permanent and special exhibition space, interactive learning environments, auditorium, resource center, oral history recording studio, museum shop, café, classrooms, meeting rooms, outside terrace, and reception areas.[11] It highlights the history and accomplishments of African Americans with a special focus on Maryland's African-American community. The museum is also a Smithsonian affiliate.

Lewis was counsel to the New York-based Commission for Racial Injustice.

Death

[edit]

On January 19, 1993, Lewis died at age 50 from brain cancer. His wife Loida Nicolas Lewis took over the company a year after his death and sold it in 1999.[12]

Personal life

[edit]

Lewis was married to Loida Nicolas Lewis, a Filipina lawyer. They had two daughters, Leslie and Christina.[13] Lewis was Catholic.[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Billion-Dollar Legacy: Reginald F. Lewis' Incredible Life Story Comes to Film". February 15, 2018.
  2. ^ "A Black Man's Journey to the Forbes 400 List". February 10, 1995.
  3. ^ "Archives - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. January 20, 1993.
  4. ^ a b "Reginald F. Lewis - RFL".
  5. ^ "BIOGRAPHY". Reginald F. Lewis. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Hicks, Jonathan P. (August 10, 1987). "Beatrice unit brings $985 million - the New York Times". the New York Times.
  7. ^ "Reginald F. Lewis as Philanthropist"
  8. ^ "The Reginald F. Lewis Fellowships for Law Teaching"
  9. ^ "Building Overview: Lewis International Law Center"
  10. ^ "Reginald F. Lewis" Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Reginald F. Lewis Museum Facilities" Archived 2015-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Jonathan P. Hicks (January 20, 1993). "Reginald F. Lewis, 50, Is Dead; Financier Led Beatrice Takeover". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "Reginald Lewis' daughter opens up about growing up with her famous father". February 10, 2012.
  14. ^ "Baltimore buries an honored son Mourners salute Reginald Lewis". Baltimore Sun. January 24, 1993. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
[edit]
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