John L. Tishman, the longtime head of Tishman Realty and Construction Company, died on Saturday at his home in Bedford, N.Y., at age 90.
Tishman inherited the firm founded by his grandfather, Julius, in 1898. Over the years, Tishman oversaw the construction of three of the world’s earliest 100-story-plus skyscrapers: the John Hancock Center in Chicago and the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.
He was born in New York City on Jan. 24, 1926. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1946. He then served in the United States Navy and taught math, ultimately joining the Tishman company in 1948, according to the New York Times.
In 1953, he married Suzanne Weisberg, who passed in 2005. He is survived by their two children, Daniel Tishman and Katherine Blacklock, and three grandsons. [NYT] – Christopher Cameron