Jacob Burns

Who was Jacob Burns?

Jacob Burns was a prominent New York attorney specializing in corporate law and estates and trusts. He was a philanthropist, a painter, and a corporate leader. He was a founder and, for several years, chairman of the board of U.S. Vitamin and Pharmaceutical Corp., a public company that merged with Revlon in 1966. Mr. Burns was a member of the Revlon board of directors from 1966 to 1985.

Jacob Burns’ father, George Burns immigrated to the United States from Kiev, Russia. He settled in Washington, D.C., around 1915, where he opened what may have been that city’s first silent movie house on 14th St. NW. As a teen, it was Jacob Burns’ job to deliver the film to the theater on his bicycle, and to work the pedals of the player piano throughout the show.

At Yeshiva University, Mr. Burns served on the Board of Trustees and was a founding director of the Sy Syms School of Business. He was a member of the Cardozo Board of Directors from 1976 until his death in 1993 and was chairman from 1986 to 1992. In 1984, Yeshiva conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. In 1970, Mr.