Sidney Jacobson

Sidney Jacobson (1918–2005) was an American businessman who founded industrial equipment distributor MSC Industrial Direct and pioneered the use of computerized inventory management and order processing.

Biography Jacobson was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn. At the age of 16, he took a job as a machinist and in 1941, he founded the Sid Tool Company in Little Italy, Manhattan with $1,000 of his own money and $3,000 borrowed from his mother. MSC went on to become one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the world with $1.87 billion in sales in 2010.

Philanthropy Jacobson was a strong supporter of the Jewish community giving generously to the UJA-Federation of New York. The Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills, New York, is named in his honor. The couple lived in Great Neck, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida. Their funeral was held at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck.