American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was born in Kentucky in a family of immigrants from Germany. He graduated from the accelerated courses of the University of Louisville (1934) as a chemical engineer, worked for 40 years at Reliance Universal, which produced paints and varnishes, and rose to the post of chairman of the Board of directors. In 1968 he founded his own company Plastic Parts Inc. First of all, he is known as the founder of the Gravemeyer Foundation, to which in 1984 he donated US$ 9 million to establish the prize for achievements in composing academic music; the Gravemeyer Prize in music was first awarded the following year to Witold Lutoslavsky, its laureates later became such outstanding composers as Krzysztof Penderecki, Gyorgy Ligeti, Pierre Boulez, Toru Takemitsu, Kaia Saariaho.
