Simon

views updated Jun 08 2018

SIMON

SIMON , family of U.S. entrepreneurs. melvin simon (1926– ) and his brother, herbert (1934– ), the sons of a tailor, were born in Brooklyn, n.y., and raised in the Bronx. Mel earned an accounting degree from the City College of New York and later a master's degree there. He went into the Army, winding up in 1953 at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. He decided to stay in the city. After working as a leasing agent, he studied real estate in college and thought there was great potential. In 1959 he formed his own real-estate investment company, Melvin Simon & Associates, with Herb, who had also worked in real estate. The business was incorporated in 1960, with Mel owning two-thirds of the business and Herb, who was also educated at the City College of New York, the rest. Another brother, Fred, worked for the company but left in 1963. Their parents moved from New York to Indianapolis in 1961. Melvin Simon & Associates began by developing strip shopping centers anchored by groceries and drug stores. Their first shopping center was Southgate Plaza in Bloomington, Ind. Within five years the Simons were developing enclosed malls. By 1967 the company owned and operated more than 3 million square feet of retail property. It continued to expand throughout the country, adding one million square feet of property every year. By the 1980s the company opened three enclosed malls every year. In the 1970s Mel tried his hand at moviemaking. His production company lost millions. In 1983, the brothers bought the professional basketball team the Indiana Pacers. In 1990, david (1961– ), Mel's oldest son, a graduate of the University of Indiana and with a master's from Columbia, joined the company as chief financial officer. He became chief executive officer in 1995. The company went public in 1993, folding most of its properties into Simon Property Group and raising nearly $1 billion, at the time the largest real estate stock offering ever. Following a $3 billion merger with DeBartolo Realty Corporation in 1996, the company became Simon DeBartolo Group, the nation's dominant shopping center owner. In 1998 the company reverted to Simon Property Group, becoming the No. 1 mall owner in the United States. Also in 1998, Simon bought the Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing, taking control of six of the seven regional shopping malls in Indianapolis. The company's projects include the Mall of America, outside Minneapolis, completed in 1992, and Circle Center Mall in Indianapolis, which opened in 1995. Overall, the Simons owned or operated about 350 properties in North America, Japan, and Europe. The Simons were known for their philanthropy. The family contributed $9 million toward construction of a research and teaching facility at the University of Indiana. They also served in Indianapolis on the boards of United Cerebral Palsy, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the Jewish Welfare Foundation.

[Stewart Kampel (2nd ed.)]

Simon

views updated May 23 2018

Simon male forename; Simon was the original name of the Apostle St Peter (see Peter1).
St Simon another Apostle, is also known as Simon the Zealot. According to one tradition he preached and was martyred in Persia along with St Jude. His feast day (with St Jude) is 28 October.
Simon Magus a magician, who in Acts 8 was baptized by Philip, and who tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit from Peter and Paul, and was rejected by them (see also simony). According to legend, Simon Magus was killed attempting to fly to demonstrate his superior magic powers.
Simon of Cyrene in the Bible, a man from Cyrene who in Mark 15:21 was made by the Roman soldiers to carry the Cross on the way to Calvary; Simon helping Jesus with his burden is one of the Stations of the Cross.
Simon-pure completely genuine, authentic, or honest, from (the real) Simon Pure, a character in Centlivre's Bold Stroke for a Wife (1717), who for part of the play is impersonated by another character.
Simple Simon a foolish or gullible person, probably from the name of a character who features in various nursery rhymes; the first known is recorded in a chapbook of the mid 18th century, but it is suggested that the name may be earlier by several centuries.

Simon

views updated May 09 2018

SIMON

SIMON , family of British printers and typographers. oliver simon (1895–1956) was born in Sale, Cheshire, the son of a cotton merchant. His mother was the sister of Sir William *Rothenstein. Simon was educated at Charterhouse and in Germany, served as an officer in the British army in World War i, and fought in the Palestine campaign. He trained as a printer in London and joined the Curwen Press of which he later became chairman and managing director. In 1923 he was a founder and editor of The Fleuron, a typography journal. He was also a founder of the typographers' Double Crown Club of which he was president in 1929. Simon was a director of the Soncino Press. As a typographer Simon had an enormous influence on the improvement of printing, typography, and type design. He edited with J. Rodenberg, Printing of Today (1928) and the Curwen Press Miscellany (1931), and was the author of Introduction to Typography (1945) and an autobiography, Printer and Playground (1956). Simon had a notable interest in Palestine, founding the Paladin Club, an influential discussion group whose members included Chaim *Weizmann.

His brother, herbert simon (1898–1974), was also a founding member of the Double Crown Club. He succeeded Oliver as chairman of the Curwen Press in 1956.

add. bibliography:

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[John M. Shaftesley]

Simon

views updated May 29 2018

Simon ★★ ½ 1980 (PG)

A group of bored demented scientists brainwash a college professor into believing he is an alien from a distant galaxy, whereupon he begins trying to correct the evil in America. Screwball comedy, or semi-serious satire of some kind? Hard to tell. Some terrific set pieces but the movie as a whole doesn't quite hold together. Directorial debut of Brickman, who previously worked as a scriptwriter with Woody Allen (“Sleeper,” etc.). 97m/C VHS . Alan Arkin, Madeline Kahn, Fred Gwynne, Adolph Green, Wallace Shawn, Austin Pendleton; D: Marshall Brickman; W: Marshall Brickman, Thomas Baum.

Simon, St

views updated May 23 2018

Simon, St. One of the twelve apostles; ‘the Less’, called ‘the Cananean’ or ‘the Zealot’ (Mark 3. 18; Luke 6. 15). In W. Churches he is traditionally paired with St Jude in the ecclesiastical calendars and in dedications of churches. Feast day, 10 May in the E.; 28 Oct. in the W.

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