September 30, 1877

Benjamin Joseph Altheimer Sr. was born in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) to German-Jewish immigrant parents. He and his two brothers became land developers and established the town of Altheimer (Jefferson County). A few years after Altheimer married a young woman in Chicago whose family was engaged in merchandising, the Altheimer family moved to Chicago. Altheimer served as general counsel and secretary to Mendel Brothers firm and became president of the company in 1945, but he maintained connections with Arkansas. He created the Ben J. Altheimer Foundation in 1942, endowed faculty chairs at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, founded the Benjamin J. Altheimer Law Library in Pine Bluff, and provided for the William H. Bowen School of Law courtroom.