Sam Melton z"l (1900-1993), industrialist, businessman, educational entrepreneur and philanthropist, was born in Czechoslovakia and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. An engineer and accountant by training, Sam grew the small business he started in his father’s garage at the age of 24, into the multi-million dollar Capitol Manufacturing and Supply of Columbus, a leading producer of steel pipe fittings.
Retiring from business in 1959, Sam Melton turned his attention fully to a range of community and educational philanthropic enterprises, including sponsorship of The Melton Research Center for Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, The Melton Center for Jewish Studies in Ohio State University in Columbus, and The Melton Centre for Jewish Education at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He served on the Board of Governors of The Hebrew University and funded the construction of the Samuel Mendel Melton Building for Jewish Education on the Mount Scopus Campus.
Sam Melton is credited with having donated more funds in support of Jewish education than any other individual philanthropist.
Sam Melton in The Jerusalem Post
Sam Melton in The New York Times