Early life Smith (born Schmidoff), His family farmed potatoes and corn.
Philanthropy Smith financed and organized a complex in Rockville for Jewish agencies including the
Hebrew Home for the Aged, the
Jewish Social Service Agency and the
Jewish Community Center. He was a
trustee of
George Washington University (GWU) from 1967 to 1976 as well as Chairman of the Committee on University Development. The
Charles E. Smith Center at George Washington University is named in his honor. He played a key role in developing GW's branch campus in
Loudoun County, Virginia. His contributions to Jewish philanthropy include: •
Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School • Charles E. Smith Life Communities •
Hartman High School- Charles E. Smith High School for Boys • Charles E. Smith Family and Prof. Joel Elkes Laboratory for Collaborative Research in Psychobiology • Charles E. Smith chair in Judaic studies at GWU Smith held honorary doctorates from
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the
Jewish Theological Seminary and
George Washington University. ==Personal life==