Charles Smith (developer)
Charles Emil Smith (né Schmidoff; March 28, 1901 – December 30, 1995) was a real estate developer and philanthropist in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Biography Smith (born Schmidoff), was born in Lipnick, Russian Empire on March 28, 1901 to an Orthodox Jewish family in Russia, the son of Sadie and Reuven Schmidoff. He immigrated to Brownsville, Brooklyn in 1911 speaking only Yiddish upon his arrival. He started as a developer in Brooklyn, but lost everything in the Great Depression. He moved to Rockville, MD where he first developed apartments and later office buildings. He founded the Charles E. Smith Co. and developed the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia. He retired in 1967 and turned to philanthropy. Philanthropy He planned a complex in Rockville for Jewish agencies including the Hebrew Home for the Aged, the Jewish Social Service Agency and the Jewish Community Center. 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 Athletic Center at George Washington University is named in his honor. 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 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. 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 A. Horsky. Personal life Smith married twice. His first wife was Leah Goldstein of Yonkers whom he married on February 8, 1927; they had two children, Robert H. Smith and Arlene Smith Kogod (married to Robert P. Kogod). Leah died in 1972. His second wife was Miriam Schuman Uretz Smith. References Writings Further reading External links Founding of Smith Life Communities History of Smith Life Communities 1901 births 1995 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American philanthropists City College of New York alumni George Washington University trustees 20th-century American businesspeople Smith family (real estate)