| Robert E. Simon | |
| Birth Name: | Robert E. Simon, Jr. |
| Birth Date: | 10 April 1914 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Reston, Virginia, U.S. |
| Known For: | Founding Reston, Virginia |
| Alma Mater: | Harvard University (1931–1935) |
| Occupation: | Real estate entrepreneur |
| Years Active: | 1946–2015 |
| Children: | 1 daughter |
| Spouse: | Anne Wertheim Langman (divorced) Cheryl Terio-Simon |
| Family: | Elizabeth Fox-Genovese (niece) |
Robert Edward Simon, Jr. (April 10, 1914 – September 21, 2015) was an American real estate entrepreneur, most known for founding the community of Reston, Virginia.[1] [2] [3] He was the maternal uncle of feminist historian and writer Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.[4]
Simon was born in New York City in 1914,[5] the son of Robert Sr. and Elsa Weil Simon,[6] immigrants from Germany.[7] He was raised in Manhattan along with his four siblings.[6] He was of Jewish descent.[8]
After graduating from Harvard University, Simon took over the family real estate management and development business. In 1961, with the proceeds from the sale of a family property, Carnegie Hall, Simon purchased 6,750 acres (27 km2) of land in Fairfax County, Virginia and hired Conklin + Rossant[9] to develop a master plan for the new town of Reston, Virginia, a planned community well known on the national level. (The town's name was derived from Simon's initials and the word "town".)[3] [10] Simon's new town concept emphasized quality of life for the individual and provided a community where people could live, work, and play without driving long distances.
Simon returned to live in an apartment near Lake Anne in Reston in 1993[10] and helped celebrate Reston's 40th birthday in 2004.[11] In that same year a bronze statue of Simon was placed on a park bench in Washington Plaza on Lake Anne, the original heart of the community he built.[3] [11]
A collection of Simon's donated materials is housed at the Specials Collections Research Center at the George Mason University Libraries.
Simon married four times.[6] He was married to author and environmentalist Anne Wertheim Langman, daughter of Maurice Wertheim, and granddaughter of Henry Morgenthau Sr.[12]
He died in Reston, Virginia in September 2015 at the age of 101.[13] He was survived by his fourth wife (married 2004), Cheryl Terio-Simon; a daughter, Margo Prescott-Morris her 2 children (Robert's grandchildren) Christine Doolin, Noah Prescott along with great-grandchildren Sara Collier, Austin Ingram, Ashton Prescott and 8 great-great grandchildren. Also his six stepchildren, Karen Terio, Betsy Langman Schulberg (married and divorced from Budd Schulberg), Deborah Langman Lesser, Lucinda Zilk, Tom Langman, and Adam Terio.[6] [14] [15]