Adolph Held
Adolph Held (May 16, 1885 – May 14, 1969) was a Galician-born Jewish American newspaper editor, banker, and labor activist.
Life
Held was born on May 16, 1885 in Boryslav, Poland, the son of Jacob Held and Tauba Yetta Singer. He immigrated to America in 1893.[1]
Held attended the College of the City of New York, graduating from there with a B.S. in 1906. From 1907 to 1912, he was the city editor of The Jewish Daily Forward, a leading Yiddish socialist newspaper. From 1912 to 1917, he worked as its business manager.[2] In 1917, he was elected as a Socialist to the New York City Board of Aldermen Fourth District, defeating Democrat Henry S. Schimmel.[3] He ran for re-election in 1919, but he lost to Louis Zeltner, who ran with support from both Republicans and Democrats.[4]
In 1920, Held was appointed European director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. In that capacity, he assisted hundreds of thousands of Jews immigrating to the United States. When he returned to America in 1924, he became president of the Forward Association, the Forward's governing body.[5] He held that position until 1962, when he became the Forward's general manager. While on a train in Berlin, he met labor leader Sidney Hillman, who offered him the presidency of the Amalgamated Bank. He served as president of the bank from 1926 to 1945. After he relinquished the presidency, he became welfare director of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.
Held died in the Workman’s Circle Home and Hospital for the Aged in the Bronx on May 14, 1969.[6]
References
- ^ Who's Who in American Jewry, 1938. Vol. III. 1938. p. 425 – via JewishData.
- ^ Landman, Isaac, ed. (1941). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York, N.Y.: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 304 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ "Socialist Aldermen". The New York Times. Vol. LXVII, no. 21837. New York, N.Y. 7 November 1917. p. 2 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Sure, Louis Zeltner Won". The New York Times. Vol. LXIX, no. 22566. New York, N.Y. 6 November 1919. p. 3 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Held, Adolph". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Adolph Held Dies at 84, Served on 'Forward,' in Labor Posts and Organizations". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Vol. XXXVI. New York, N.Y. 15 May 1969. p. 4.