Adolph Held
Adolph Held | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Boryslav, Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| Died | May 14, 1969 (aged 83) |
| Occupation(s) | Labor leader, politician, banker, newspaper editor |
| Years active | 1907–1967 |
| Known for | President of the Jewish Labor Committee (1938–1969); member of New York City Board of Aldermen (1918–1919); president of Amalgamated Bank; editor and business manager of The Jewish Daily Forward |
Adolph Held (May 16, 1885 – May 14, 1969) was a Jewish American labor leader, politician, banker, and newspaper editor originally from Galicia. He led the Jewish Labor Committee as its president from 1938 until his passing in 1969 and represented the Socialist Party on the New York City Board of Aldermen between 1918 and 1919.
Life
Held was born in Boryslav, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and emigrated to the United States in 1893. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the City College of New York in 1906. Between 1907 and 1912, he worked as city editor for The Jewish Daily Forward, a prominent Yiddish socialist publication, subsequently serving as its business manager from 1912 until 1917. In 1917, Held secured election as a Socialist to represent the Fourth District on the New York City Board of Aldermen but was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1919.
In 1920, he took on the role of European director for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, facilitating Jewish immigration to America. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1924, Held assumed the presidency of the Forward Association. He held the vice-presidency of Amalgamated Bank from 1925 to 1928 before becoming its president in 1928; under his leadership, the bank was recognized as one of New York’s most secure during the financial crisis of 1929. Additionally, he chaired both the board of radio station WEVD and the Amalgamated Co-operative Housing Association. After retiring from his role as bank president in 1945, Held became welfare director for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.
As a principal founder of the Jewish Labor Committee in 1933, Held maintained his position as president emeritus until his death. He played a significant role advocating for expanded Social Security benefits and the creation of Medicare. Furthermore, he served as president and later general manager of The Forward until his retirement in 1967.
Held was deeply involved with numerous prominent Jewish organizations including serving on the presidium of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany from 1952, chairing American Labor ORT, holding a central board position with World ORT Union, acting as vice president of American ORT Federation, founding and participating in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and affiliating with the Israel Bond Organization.
He married Lillian Michaels in 1913; she passed away in 1954. Adolph Held died on May 14, 1969, at the Workmen’s Circle Home and Hospital for the Aged located in the Bronx and was interred at Mount Hebron Cemetery.