Jacob Blaustein

Amoco founder: He built a global giant, helped launch Charles Center and served as U.S. diplomat. Jacob Blaustein was instrumental in creating anti-knock, high-octane motor fuel for high-compression engines that were so popular with early auto designers and manufacturers. His company came up with two marketing breakthroughs -- the drive-through filling station and the metered pump. It was only one arm of the family's operations. The Blausteins' American Trading and Production Co. held interests in ocean tankers, manufacturing, banking, insurance and real estate companies, as well as a controlling share of Crown Central Petroleum. Jacob Blaustein played an important role in downtown Baltimore's revival. After a selection committee rejected his proposal for a skyscraper at One Charles Center in favor of a Mies van der Rohe-designed tower, Blaustein bought the Hub Department Store across the street. He knocked it down and built his own 30-story structure, one story taller than One Charles Center, which spurred additional office development. Blaustein was more than an entrepreneur. He advised five presidents and undertook diplomatic missions to Germany, Israel, North Africa, South America and the United Nations. In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Blaustein to attend the formative meetings of the United Nations. Through his efforts, the U.N. charter included language on basic human rights. Although he was not a Zionist, Blaustein played a key role in cementing U.S.-Israeli relations. His close ties with David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, led to an accord on the status of American Jews and Israel known as the Ben-Gurion-Blaustein Agreements. Blaustein's philanthropy extended to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Associated: Jewish Charities. The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation supports a range of programs -- from religious pluralism in Israel to cutting-edge research at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. Jacob Blaustein died in 1970. Baltimoreans, whether they are filling their cars with gasoline or listening to the BSO performing a Mozart concerto, are the beneficiaries of this remarkable but unpretentious man's legacy.