Maury Kravitz was a lawyer, a gold trader and a student of history, but he was best known for his fascination with 13th century Mongolian leader Genghis Khan, a fascination that led to four expeditions in search of the emperor's grave site in Mongolia.
"I got a call in early 1995 … about some cockamamie scheme to look for a burial site in Mongolia of Genghis Khan," said John Woods, a professor of history at the University of Chicago, adding that the call led to a lunch with Mr. Kravitz.
"Although the scheme seemed strange, he was so magnetic that I couldn't turn away," said Woods, who soon got involved in an effort to raise funds for an expedition. Though that early effort didn't raise any money, Mr. Kravitz by 2000 had convinced a small group of investors to put $1.2 million into funding expeditions over four summers.
The expedition located a grave site in Mongolia with artifacts from Genghis Khan's time, Woods said. But the professor also said he didn't know if it is "the right place." Woods said that if time, money and the political climate had allowed, there were other likely sites to explore.
Mr. Kravitz, 80, died of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Tuesday, July 31, in Highland Park Hospital, according to his wife, Mona. He had lived in Highland Park for more than 40 years.
Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune.