| George T. Delacorte Jr. | |
| Birth Name: | George Tonkonogy |
| Birth Date: | 20 June 1894 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Alma Mater: | Columbia University |
| Occupation: | Magazine publisher |
George T. Delacorte Jr. (20 June 1894 - 4 May 1991) was an American magazine publisher, born in New York City.
He founded the Dell Publishing in 1921. His goal was to entertain readers who were not satisfied with the genteel publications available at the time. The company was one of the largest publishers of books, magazines, and comics during its heyday. His most successful innovation was the puzzle magazine.
Delacorte, born George Tonkonogy,[1] was the son of George Tonkonogy, Sr. and Sadie König, both Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.[2] He grew up in Brooklyn with his siblings; Abraham, Mamie, Henrietta, Archibald, Elizabeth, Eugene, and Gertrude.[3] [4] [5]
An alumnus of Columbia University (1913), Delacorte donated money to the university which established the Delacorte Professorship in the Humanities and helped found the George T. Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism and the creation of the Delacorte Professorship in Magazine Journalism in 1984. The university recognized him with an honorary doctorate in 1982.
In 1962, he donated money to establish the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, New York City. He also donated money for the Delacorte Clock in the park, an Alice in Wonderland sculpture to the north of Conservatory Water with among others the Mad Hatter (whose face is supposedly modeled on that of Delacorte) in honor of his wife,[6] [7] [8] [9] sculptures of The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet, and a fountain in City Hall Plaza.
He died in Manhattan in 1991 at the age of 96, survived by his second wife Valerie Delacorte (whose second husband was the Hungarian producer Gabriel Pascal), two sons, three daughters, 18 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. His siblings included Gertrude Friedberg[10] and Eugene Tonkonogy.[11]
He is memorialized by several funds in The New York Community Trust, which offers a biographical brochure.[12]