{{Short description|Real estate developer and philanthropist}} {{Infobox person | name = Charles E. Smith | birth_name = Schmidoff | birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|3|28}} | birth_place = Lipnick, Russian Empire | death_date = {{Death date and age|1995|12|30|1901|3|28}} | death_place = Palm Beach, Florida, US | education = degree in accounting | alma_mater = City College of New York | occupation = Real estate developer, philanthropist | years_active = in business until 1967; philanthropist thereafter | organization = Charles E. Smith Companies | known_for = | boards = George Washington University trustee 1967–1976 | spouse = Leah Goldstein (m. 1927–death 1972)<br/>{{marriage|Miriam Uretz Smith||1988|end=divorced}} | children = Arlene Kogod, Robert H. Smith | relatives = Robert Kogod (son-in-law)<br>David Bruce Smith (grandson) | awards = honorary doctorates from: *Hebrew University of Jerusalem *Jewish Theological Seminary of America *George Washington University Honorary Doctor of Public Service, 1979 | footnotes = <ref name=Dies/><ref name=PapaCharlie/> }}
'''Charles Emil Smith''' (né '''Schmidoff'''; March 28, 1901 – December 30, 1995)<ref name=Dies/><ref name=PapaCharlie>{{cite book | title=Conversations with Papa Charlie: A Memory of Charles E. Smith | first=David Bruce | last=Smith | year=2000 | author-link=David Smith (author) | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnuHF-VxeKMC&q=march+28 | publisher=Capital Books | isbn=978-1-892123-34-3}}</ref> was a real estate developer and philanthropist in the Washington metropolitan area.
==Biography== ===Early life=== Smith (born Schmidoff),<ref name=Dies/> was born in Lipnick, Russian Empire on March 28, 1901<ref name=PapaCharlie /> to Sadie and Reuven Schmidoff, in an Orthodox Russian Jewish family.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f6clJqe_Ak0C&q=charles+e+smith | last=Shapiro | first=Edward S. | author-link=Edward S. Shapiro | title=A Time for Healing: American Jewry since World War II | publisher=JHU Press | year=1995 | isbn=9780801851247 | page=120}}</ref><ref name=history>{{Cite web | url=https://www.cesjds.org/about/history | title=About Charles E. Smith | publisher=Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School}}</ref> His family farmed potatoes and corn.<ref name=history/> At age 7, he contracted diphtheria.<ref name=history/> His father immigrated to the U.S. in 1908 to earn money to bring the rest of the family over.<ref name=history/> Smith immigrated to Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 1911 speaking only Yiddish upon his arrival.<ref name=Dies/> He was placed in the fourth grade despite being the same age as sixth graders.<ref name=history/> He learned English quickly and graduated from City College of New York.<ref name=Dies/> His father became a real estate developer and brought Smith into the business.<ref name=Dies/>
===Career=== Smith started a home construction company in Brooklyn, but lost everything in the Great Depression.<ref name=empire/> To support himself, Smith invested in parking spaces and vending machines.<ref name=Dies/>
In 1942, due to an insatiable demand for housing during World War II, Smith moved to Rockville, Maryland.<ref name=empire/> With financing from a friend,<ref name=Dies/> Smith built 50 houses in Prince George's County, Maryland, but lost money on the development after costs soared.<ref name=Dies/><ref name=empire/> After working for Waverly Taylor for 3 years, he founded the Charles E. Smith Company in 1946, with money from friends.<ref name=Dies/><ref name=empire/> He then changed focus to developing income-producing apartment properties in Washington, D.C. for long-term investments, taking advantage of low-cost government financing.<ref name=Dies/><ref name=empire/> In 1960, he built his first office building, 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.<ref name=empire/> In 1961, at the suggestion of his son, Robert H. Smith, the company began developing in Crystal City, Virginia, which at the time was a "conglomeration of places that sold junk, used tires, a drive-in movie theater, a run-down ice skating rink, second-hand materials -- it was very unattractive."<ref name=empire/> Smith initially opposed the idea.<ref name=Dies/>
He retired in 1967 and turned to philanthropy, giving control of the company to his son, Robert H. Smith, and his son-in-law, Robert P. Kogod.<ref name=empire>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1996/02/05/empire-of-the-son-and-son-in-law/84a748dc-2bce-40bf-9c53-5f2a584b75f3/ | title=EMPIRE OF THE SON AND SON-IN-LAW | first=Maryann | last=Haggerty | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=February 5, 1996}}</ref><ref name=Dies>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/01/01/washington-builder-philanthropist-charles-e-smith-dies/ce5bf753-2925-422d-80a6-14239152aed1/ | title=Washington Builder, Philanthropist Charles E. Smith Dies | first=Martin | last=Weil | newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 1, 1996}}</ref>
===Philanthropy=== Smith financed and organized a complex in Rockville for Jewish agencies including the Hebrew Home for the Aged, the Jewish Social Service Agency and the Jewish Community Center.<ref>{{cite book | title=13 Young Men: How Charles E. Smith Influenced a Community (Google eBook) | author-link=David Bruce Smith | first=David Bruce | last=Smith | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-M8cQn2ec1sC | isbn=978-0-615-26854-5 | lccn=2010467953 | location=Washington D.C. | publisher=David Bruce Smith | date=October 2, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.smithlifecommunities.org/about/our-story/ | title=100+ Years Caring for Our Community | publisher=Charles E. Smith Life Communities}}</ref> He was a trustee of George Washington University (GWU) from 1967 to 1976 as well as Chairman of the Committee on University Development. The Charles E. Smith Center at George Washington University is named in his honor.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://washingtonian.com/2001/07/01/chasing-money/ | title=Chasing Money | first=LARRY | last=VAN DYNE | work=Washingtonian | date=July 1, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url=https://gwsports.com/news/2008/2/19/SMITH_AND_KOGOD_FAMILIES_COMMIT_10_MILLION_FOR_TRANSFORMATIONAL_RENOVATION_OF_CHARLES_E_SMITH_CENTER | title=Smith and Kogod families commit $10 million for transformational renovation of Charles E. Smith Center | publisher=George Washington University | date=February 14, 2008}}</ref>
He played a key role in developing GW's branch campus in Loudoun County, Virginia.
His contributions to Jewish philanthropy include: * Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/charles-e-smith-celebrating-50-years-of-educating-children/ | title=Charles E. Smith celebrating 50 years of educating children | first=David | last=Holzel | work=Washington Jewish Week | date=November 10, 2015}}</ref> * Charles E. Smith Life Communities * Hartman High School- Charles E. Smith High School for Boys * Charles E. Smith Family and Prof. Joel Elkes Laboratory for Collaborative Research in Psychobiology * Charles E. Smith chair in Judaic studies at GWU
Smith held honorary doctorates from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Jewish Theological Seminary and George Washington University.<ref name=Dies/> In 1997, he was posthumously awarded an Honor Award from the National Building Museum alongside other community developers of Washington, D.C., including Morris Cafritz and Charles Antone Horsky.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/realestate/1997/09/13/va-trust-hopes-to-buy-battlefield/9d23ff30-da14-4a78-8335-15ea8bb76a34/ | title=Va. Trust Hopes to Buy Battlefield | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=September 13, 1997}}</ref>
==Personal life== Smith married twice. His first wife was Leah Goldstein of Yonkers whom he married on February 8, 1927;<ref name=history/> they had two children, Robert H. Smith and Arlene Smith Kogod (married to Robert P. Kogod).<ref name=history/> Leah died in 1972. His second wife was Miriam Schuman Uretz Smith; they divorced in 1988.<ref name=Dies/><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=miriam-h-smith&pid=173070155 | title=Miriam H. Smith "Micki" | newspaper=The Washington Post | via=Legacy.com | date=November 6, 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QCp2l6f3V6EC | title=Building My Life | first1=Charles E. |last1=Smith | first2=David Bruce | last2=Smith | authorlink2=David Bruce Smith | first3=Peter | last3=Muller | year=1985 | publisher=C.E. Smith |location=Washington, D. C.? | isbn=9780985047719 | lccn=86463574}} * {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mtc4HQAACAAJ | title=Building the Community: Memorable Events in my Life | first1=Charles E. | last1=Smith | first2=David Bruce | last2=Smith | authorlink2=David Bruce Smith | lccn=97181010 | location=Washington D.C. | publisher=C.E. Smith | year=1998| isbn=978-0-9850477-3-3 }} * {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXhPGwAACAAJ | title=Letters to my Children | first1=Charles E. |last1=Smith | authorlink2=David Bruce Smith | last2=Smith | first2=David Bruce | lccn=93204323 | date=1993}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles}} Category:1901 births Category:1995 deaths Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American philanthropists Category:City College of New York alumni Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Category:George Washington University trustees Charles