Emil Bachrach
Emil Bachrach | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emanuel Maurice Bachrach Template:Birth date |
| Died | Template:Birth date |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur and philanthropist |
| Spouse | Mary McDonald |
| Children | Niece-Minna Levine-Gaberman |
Emanuel Maurice "Emil" Bachrach (4 July 1874 – 28 September 1937) was a Jewish immigrant originally from Belarus who settled in the United States before becoming a prominent entrepreneur and benefactor in the Philippines.
Career
At 18 years old, Emil emigrated from Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire, to the United States. By 1901, he relocated to Manila with approximately $850 and founded a thriving furniture business. Subsequently, he obtained a franchise from Ford Motor Company, establishing Bachrach Motors Inc. In 1930, he launched the Philippine Air Taxi Co (PATCO), which was acquired by Andrés Soriano in 1939 and merged into Philippine Airlines (PAL) two years later, with PAL inheriting PATCO’s operational license. Beyond his business ventures, Emil was a dedicated philanthropist supporting both Jewish and Christian communities and provided refuge for Jews escaping Nazi Germany. He played a significant role in funding the construction of the Jewish Temple Emil Synagogue.
In 1916, Emil met Mary McDonald, an American expatriate who managed several notable hotels in the Philippines including the Nevada Hotel and Pines Hotel in Baguio, as well as Manila’s Delmonico Hotel. Their brief courtship ended in marriage, with Mary becoming not only his spouse but also an essential collaborator in his enterprises. The couple maintained close ties with Mary’s niece, Minna Levine—daughter of Hyman M. Levine—who later married Bernard Gaberman, a notable White Russian immigrant. Minna and Bernard had two children: Mari Gaberman and Earl "Butch" Gaberman.
Emil contributed significantly to the establishment of the Commonwealth’s Bureau of Aeronautics, which eventually evolved into the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. Appointed by Governor-General Dwight F. Davis to a committee investigating civil aviation prospects across the archipelago, Bachrach helped recommend forming the Bureau within the Department of Commerce and Industry, adopting U.S. air traffic regulations, and developing airports nationwide.
During World War II, Emil’s widow Mary McDonald was compelled to relinquish their Manila residence known as Casa Blanca or Bachrach Mansion located at Manga Avenue corner Buenos Aires Street in Santa Mesa when General Tomoyuki Yamashita occupied it in October 1944. Following the Battle of Manila (1945), General Douglas MacArthur and his family used the mansion as their residence. After the war concluded, Mary returned to the United States, while the mansion was acquired by Club Filipino and officially opened by President Ramon Magsaysay on September 21, 1956.
References
Further reading
- Lou Gopal, Manila Nostalgia
- The Manila Americans (Google Books)
- The History of the Jewish Community of Manila (Google Books)