KNIGHT, Norman
PHILANTHROPIST, ENTREPRENEUR, HUMANITARIAN, ADVISOR
Norman Knight, a major Boston philanthropist, who dedicated his life to helping others, died at his home in Boston, on March 9, 2024.
Mr. Knight was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 24, 1924. He was a successful media entrepreneur.
After stops in St. Louis, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia and New York, he came to Boston in the mid1950s and founded Knight Quality Stations, which grew to twenty radio stations. He was recognized both nationally and locally as a leader in the broadcast industry. He was a pioneer in recognizing the value of FM stations and the making of documentaries. He introduced cable to the Caribbean. In 1996, the Broadcasters Foundation of America awarded Mr. Knight its first Golden Mike Award. After many years in the radio medium, on January 1, 1998, Mr. Knight sold Knight Quality Stations. He then turned most of his attention to philanthropy.
Mr. Knight’s personal philosophy was that you measure the value of a person not by how much the person has, but by how much the person has given away. In his business activities he strived to give 20% of the profits to charitable causes. In 1954, he established the Norman Knight Charitable Foundation. Through the Foundation and with the utilization of his individual funds, he conducted his philanthropic activities. Mr. Knight generously funded the operations of the Foundation. The Foundation will be perpetual and continue to support his charitable endeavors. He contributed generously to numerous charities during his life and has been recognized by more than fifty organizations for his contributions.
In 1959, Mr. Knight was one of the co-founders of The Hundred Club of Mass.., Inc., a Massachusetts charity that provides benefits to the surviving family members of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty in Massachusetts. Mr. Knight’s mission was that no firefighter or police officer that died while protecting us, would ever be forgotten. He served without compensation as Chairman of the Board and President for over 50 years. On his watch, Mr. Knight personally met with the surviving families of every firefighter and police officer in Massachusetts killed in the line of duty. He often formed a personal bond with these families. His message to first responders was simple – if you fall in the line of duty, the Hundred Club gives you the unconditional and unequivocal promise that your service will not be forgotten, and the Hundred Club will support your families for the rest of their lives.
In 1995, after a disastrous fire in Charlestown, Mr. Knight began funding the Norman Knight Hyperbaric Medicine Center at Massachusetts Eye & Ear (“MEEI”). Prior to that time, there were no other hyperbaric treatment centers in New England. Since 1995, the Center has had approximately 40,000 patient treatments, saving countless lives. In addition to funding the
Center, he funded seventeen different endowments at MEEI and MGH, focused on nursing. Nurses held a special place in Mr. Knight’s heart as he saw them as the first line of defense for a patient. The Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical and Professional Development is at MGH and the Norman Knight Nursing Center is at MEEI. Recently, his endowments at MGH awarded forty scholarships and grants to nurses.
Mr. Knight was a founder of the Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial Fund and helped to build and finance the state’s first and only firefighters’ memorial, located at the State House. Primarily funded through private donations, the Memorial was dedicated in 2008.
His benevolence and largesse extended beyond the public charity sector, as he personally helped many individuals and organizations.
Mr. Knight was particularly fond of the Boy Scouts. He was one of the youngest people in the U.S. to become an Eagle Scout. He served on the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America. He donated fiftyfour acres of pristine forest land to the Boy Scouts and as a condition of the gift, he directed that there would be no public recognition of the gift.
Not only was Mr. Knight a prolific philanthropist, he also freely gave of his most precious possession – his time. As a few examples and by no means an exhaustive list of his activities, he: was a friend and advisor to President John F. Kennedy, served on an advisory committee to President Eisenhower for both Eisenhower terms, was a radio/television advisor to Cardinal Cushing and financed the building of the studio that televised the first television Mass, served on the Boston University Development Council, served on the President’s Council at Boston College, contributed equipment and financing for WBUR and the radio station at Clark University, provided the initial funding and was instrumental in the founding of The Samaritans in the U.S., that focused on suicide prevention, was Co-Chairman with John Glenn and President Eisenhower of the American Freedom Center in Valley Forge, PA, was a consultant to the
BBC, established awards for the Royal College of Anaesthetists in England, served on the Executive Board of the American Red Cross, with Robert
Kraft, he was part of the leadership that revitalized Meals on Wheels, was one of the originators of the antismoking campaign in the U.S., was a member of and active in Aims for Freedom that promoted free enterprise throughout Europe, was a co-founder of The Kidney Disease Foundation, and served for 40 years on the Executive Committee of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This is by no means a complete list of his activities.
Mr. Knight was predeceased by his son, Jeffrey and is survived by his sons, Scott of Wellesley, Randall of St. Thomas, Robert of Boston; five grandchildren and two greatgrandsons. He is also survived by his long-time loving partner, Binta Ceesay Jallow.
A Memorial Service will be held for Mr. Knight in the early fall.
Mr. Knight’s legacy is that of a humble, self-made caring man who strived to lift the less fortunate and exerted exemplary efforts to make the world a better place.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.