Timeline of Louis Appell Jr.'s life, 1924-2016
Louis J Appell Jr. — one of the most prominent businessmen, civic leaders, and philanthropists in York — died Monday, according to his family.
READ: Louis Appell Jr., businessman, philanthropist, dies
Louis Appell Jr. through the years
1922: Appell's parents, Helen Pfaltzgraff and Louis J. Appell, marry.
1924: Louis Appell Jr. is born on June 19 in York.
1942: Louis J. Appell launches radio station WSBA-AM (910) in York. It eventually grows into Susquehanna Radio, one of the U.S.'s largest chains of radio stations including stations in San Francisco, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta.
1943: Louis J. Appell Jr. graduates from Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire.
1943 - 1946: He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve in the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade from November 1943 to August 1946, which coincided with his education at Harvard University.
1947: Appell graduates from Harvard.
1951: Appell elected president of Susquehanna Broadcasting.
1980: A refurbished Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center opens at a gala event highlighted by a performance by legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald. Appell was part of a group of civic leaders who raised money to purchase and renovate the Strand, which had been built in 1925 by his grandfather, theater mogul Nathan Appell.
1988: Appell's company, Susquehanna Real Estate, opens a five-story office building at 96 S. George St. In downtown York.
1998: Appell is named to a task force to decide whether to build a new county courthouse or expand the existing courthouse.
2001: Appell retires as Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff's president and CEO after 50 years in the role. He remains chairman of the board.
2001: Appell is part of a group of York County business leaders who send a letter to the York Daily Record and York Dispatch/Sunday News criticizing their continuing coverage of the 1969 York riots.
2002: Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania inducts Appell into its Business Hall of Fame.
2003: A ribbon-cutting and grand opening is held for Susquehanna Commerce Center, a pair of office buildings in York built by Susquehanna Real Estate.
2005: Appell announces Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff plans to seek buyers for its Pfaltzgraff pottery business and its cable TV, Internet and radio stations because none of the members of the family wanted to run it. The company will retain its real estate development business, Susquehanna Real Estate. Appell calls the decision to sell "a difficult and carefully considered step."
2005: Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff sells its Pfaltzgraff pottery stores and intellectual property to Lifetime Brands, of Westbury, New York, for $38.2 million.
2005: Appell receives the Distinguished Citizen of the Commonwealth Award from the Pennsylvania Society at a gala at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York.
2006: Comcast buys Susquehanna Communications' cable TV business and BlazeNet Internet business for $775 million.
2006: Cumulus Media Partners buys Susquehanna Radio for $1.2 billion
2007: Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff and The Wolf Organization, co-owners in the Yorktowne Hotel, sell the hotel to York Hotel Group for $5.5 million.
2008: York Daily Record includes Appell on its list of the 25 most influential people in York County.
"If we had to single out one single most influential York countian, it would be Mr. Appell," the newspaper said. "His charitable contributions could fill a book, and his influence as a businessman is legendary."
2010: Appell receives a Governor's Award for his contributions to the arts in York County.
2010: Downtown Inc honors Appell and his wife, Jody, with a Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing their contributions to improving life in York.
2013: York County Community Foundation honors Appel and his wife at a donor appreciation dinner.
2014: Appell's daughter, Barbara dies.
2015: Powder Mill Foundation, of which Appell is president, donates the former Lafayette Club building on East Market Street to York College to become the new home of the college's Center for Community Engagement.
2016. Louis Appell Jr. dies on Monday, June 27.
Source: York Daily Record archives, "Susquehanna Radio: The First Fifty Years," other research.
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