George Atkinson Braga, 1904-1984.
Records, 1929-1984.
1.25 linear ft. (3
boxes)
Businessman.
Born 1904. He was the eldest son of Bernardo Braga Rionda and Margaret
Atkinson Braga. He began his career in the sugar industry in the
firm of Czarnikow-Rionda in 1924. His father was executive
vice president of the firm and later president and chairman of the board.
In 1950, his father stepped down as president and Braga was elected to
succeed him. After his father was incapacitated by a severe stroke
in 1953, Braga became the dominant figure in the company. He was
also president of the Manati Sugar Company and served on the boards of
the company's Cuban affiliates. In 1969, Braga negotiated the sale
of Czarnikow-Rionda to C. Brewer, a subsidiary of International Utilities
Corporation. He and his brother, B. Rionda (Ronny) Braga, retained
Czarnikow-Rionda's molasses business and operated under the title Braga
Brothers, Inc. (See Series 41.) The Bragas also worked with
Rionda, dePass, a Czarnikow-Rionda subsidiary in London. In addition
to his sugar and molasses businesses, Braga served on the board of directors
of J. Henry Schroder Bank & Trust Company.
Braga was married to
Gioia Marconi, daughter of Guglielmo Marconi, in 1954. He died
in 1984. The Bragas had two children, a daughter, Allegra (born 1959),
and a son, Michael (born 1961).
A copy of his family
history and memoir, "A bundle of relations", is also in the collection.
(See Series 24.)
The series contains
business and personal papers and is organized in three sections.
The first two sections consist of business papers; the last contains private
correspondence. The first section spans the years preceding Braga's
tenure as president of Czarnikow-Rionda and consists primarily of documents
related to Czarnikow-Rionda's reorganization in 1940 as well as notes and
memoranda to and from Braga's uncle, Manuel Rionda y Polledo. Both
shed light on the internal operations of the company. The second
section, 1950-1984, documents Braga's leadership of Czarnikow-Rionda and
his business career after leaving the firm in 1969. The private correspondence,
1932-1981, consists mostly of letters written to Braga. There is
also a file related to Braga's service in the Army Air Corps during World
War II. Of special note in the last section are the letters from
Alfonso Fanjul, and other members of the Fanjul family, reflecting on family
history and the political situation in Cuba under Fidel Castro.
The materials in this
series were donated to the Libraries by members of the Braga family in
1993.