Axel Gerhardt Rosin
BornDecember 11, 1907
Berlin, Germany
DiedMarch 27, 2007 (age 99)
NationalityAmerican
EducationJ.D. Berlin University
Known forPresident of the Book-of-the-Month Club
SpouseKatharine Scherman
Children2
FamilyHarry Scherman (father-in-law)
Thomas Scherman (brother-in-law)

Axel Gerhardt Rosin (December 11, 1907 – March 27, 2007) was a philanthropist, president of the Book-of-the-Month Club and chairman emeritus of the Scherman Foundation.

Biography

Rosin was born in Berlin and graduated from Berlin University with a J.D. degree in 1930.[1] He worked as a lawyer for the Supreme Court of Prussia until 1934, when he emigrated to the United States after the Nazis banned Jews from entering courthouses.[1] He subsequently worked for a shoe manufacturer in Virginia. In 1943 he married Katharine Scherman, and was made comptroller of the Book-of-the-Month Club, which had been founded by Ms. Scherman's father Harry Scherman in 1926.[1] His brother-in-law is conductor Thomas Scherman. Rosin became president of the company in 1960, a position he held until 1973, and was then chairman until his retirement in 1979. His decision in 1967 to pay $250,000 for the right to offer William Manchester's book, The Death of a President as a club selection helped to foster the company's resurgence.[2] During Rosin's leadership the company's annual sales doubled and membership reached 1.25 million.[1]

Overseeing the Scherman Foundation, Rosin was responsible for distributing grant monies to organizations promoting the arts, social welfare programs, the environment, disarmament, and reproductive rights.[1]

He has two daughters with his wife, Karen Rosin Sollins and Susanna Rosin Bergtold.[1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hevesi, Dennis (March 28, 2007). "Axel Rosin, 99, Longtime Head of the Book-of-the-Month Club, Dies". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Los Angeles Times

References

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