Benjamin Abrams. a pioneer in radio and television and leading Jewish philanthropist, died of a heart attack here while dining with his wife in a restaurant. He was 74.
Mr. Abrams was born In Rumania and came to the United States when he was 12, getting work as a piano tuner and selling newspapers. He entered the phonograph business and in 1922 he and his brothers launched the Emerson Radio and Phonograph Corporation.
Active in a wide range of general and Jewish affairs, he was a founder of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, a founder of the Greater New York Committee for Israel Bonds and a founder and board member of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Greater New York.
He also served as a member of the board of directors of the United Jewish Appeal, the Weizmann Institute, the Hebrew University In Jerusalem, the American Financial and Development Corporation for Israel, the American Friends of the Hebrew University and several New York Jewish institutions. In 1954 he provided funds for an electronic laboratory at the Weizmann Institute at Rehovot which was named for him.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
