Benjamin Altheimer

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Benjamin Altheimer (March 6, 1850 – April 30, 1938) was a German-born Jewish-American banker and philanthropist.

Life

Altheimer was born on March 6, 1850, in Darmstadt, the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the son of Moses Altheimer and Salome Loew.[1]

Altheimer attended the Reinhardt Institute and the Darmstadt Realschule, after which he received private instruction in mathematics and languages at Darmstadt and

Altheimer & Rawlings Investment Co., which he was president of. In 1916, when his business partner died, he sold his bank, retired from the business, and moved to New York City. He lived there for the rest of his life.[4]

In 1918, Altheimer proposed the institution of Flag Day to President

great blizzard of 1912, he introduced the Emergency Relief Association and Bundle Day, which were credited in successfully clothing the poor. The Emergency Relief Association later became a permanent body. During the yellow fever epidemic in the South, he called for the first meeting for the relief of victims of the disease and was appointed by the mayor of St. Louis to a three-person commission to take charge of the movement. He was also an organizer of the Missouri Charity Week, a director of the Cleveland Jewish Orphanage, a co-founder and treasurer of the National Jewish Hospital for Consumptives, and a co-founder and chairman of the Pretorius Memorial Library of Washington University in St. Louis.[3]

While living in St. Louis, Altheimer was a founder and trustee of

Archbishop of St. Louis, who referred to him on that occasion as the "Napoleon of charity." For his work in connection to Flag Day, he was made an honorary member of Jewish War Veterans. He also wrote poetry and contributed articles to various magazines on Jewish and religious topics.[4]

Altheimer was a member of the Freemasons, the Harmonie Club, the Midday Club of New York City, the Noonday, Columbian and Town and Gown clubs of St. Louis, the Glen Echo Country Club, and the West Wood Country Club. Politically, he was a Republican. He was president of Temple Beth-El in New York City. When that congregation merged with Congregation Emanu-El, he became the latter congregation's vice-president, an honorary life trustee, and, following Louis Marshall's death in 1929, acting president. In 1880, he married Jenny Eisenstadt, daughter of St. Louis jewelry manufacturer Michael Eisenstadt. They had one daughter, Selma, who married Arthur William Weil.[4]

Altheimer died at home[6] from colon cancer on April 30, 1938.[7] He was buried in New Mount Sinai Cemetery in St. Louis.[8]

References

  1. ^ Simons, John, ed. (1938). Who's Who in American Jewry, 1938-1939. Vol. 3. New York, N.Y.: National News Association, Inc. p. 29 – via FamilySearch.
  2. ^ Who's Who in American Jewry, 1926. New York, N.Y.: The Jewish Biographical Bureau, Inc. January 1927. p. 21 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b Landman, Isaac, ed. (1939). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York, N.Y.: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 211 – via Google Books.
  4. ^
    James T. White & Co. 1941. pp. 115–116 – via HathiTrust
    .
  5. ^ "Altheimer, Benjamin". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
  6. ^ "Ben Altheimer, Ex-Banker, Is Dead". The New York Times. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 29317. New York, N.Y. 1 May 1938. p. N6.
  7. ^ "D-M-1938-0009624". The NYC Historical Vital Records Project.
  8. ^ "Burial Records". New Mount Sinai Cemetery. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benjamin_Altheimer&oldid=1215859654"