Benedict Gimbel Jr. (1899 – February 6, 1971) was an American businessman, department store executive, and founder of one of the first radio stations in Philadelphia.
[2] His father worked as an executive at the family business and killed himself in Hoboken in 1907 despondent after being charged with a serious crime.
[4] He attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, but left during his sophomore year to join the U.S. Army during World War I, where he reached the rank of sergeant.
[4][5][6] The station started broadcasting on March 17, 1922 from its studio above the Gimbels department store in Philadelphia.
[4] In 1960, John W. Kluge's Metromedia bought WIP for $4.500,000; Gimbel remained as a vice president.