Guggenheim, Meyer

Guggenheim, Meyer (1828-1905), American industrialist, born in Langnau, Switzerland. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 19 and established a flourishing business in Philadelphia as a retailer and importer of Swiss embroidery. Guggenheim purchased mining property in Colorado and, believing that processing minerals rather than mining them was the more profitable enterprise, built large smelters in Colorado and Mexico and a refinery in New Jersey. The firm of Guggenheim Brothers was organized in 1881 by Guggenheim and his seven sons. In 1901 the Guggenheims gained control of the American Smelting and Refining Co.