10 Facts About Henry Crown

Henry Crown was an American industrialist and philanthropist.

Henry Crown and Company, of which he is the namesake, is an investment firm that owns or has interests in a variety of business assets.

Henry Crown was the third of seven children of a sweatshop worker, Arie Krinsky, and his wife Ida.

Henry Crown's father changed the family name to Crown while Henry was a boy.

Henry Crown left the business to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II.

In 1959, Crown gained a controlling interest in General Dynamics and merged the company with MSC, which had $100 million in sales.

In 1960, Henry Crown was named director of General Dynamics and then chairman of its executive committee, which lasted until 1966, when he was forced out by Roger Lewis through the redemption of Henry Crown's controlling block of preferred stock.

In 1970, Crown purchased sufficient stock to achieve a controlling interest in General Dynamics and quickly removed Roger Lewis, replacing him with David S Lewis.

Henry Crown's beneficiaries included the University of Chicago, Brandeis University, Stanford University, Northwestern University and the St Lawrence University student investment fund.

Crown had three children: Robert Crown, Lester Crown was born on June 7,1925 and and John J Crown, a Cook County judge.