Senator Herbert H. Lehman was the recipient today of many congratulations from Jewish and non-Jewish personalities and organizations on the occasion of his 80th birthday tomorrow. Mr. Lehman, who is active in the political life of the country and in Jewish and humanitarian affairs, was the first Jew to be elected to the U.S. Senate by direct ballot. He served in the Senate for seven years.
Born and raised in New York, he began his public service career as Lieutenant Governor of New York state in 1928. serving later as Governor for ten years. His first Federal position was as Director of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations for the State Department in 1942. The following year he was named Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, a post in which he served three years, rendering unprecedented aid to Nazi victims.
An officer or board member of a wide variety of general and Jewish civic organizations. Sen. Lehman has been awarded honorary degrees by dozens of universities. He is honorary vice president of the Joint Distribution Committee, honorary chairman of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York, general chairman of the American Committee for the Celebration of Israel’s Tenth Anniversary and vice president of the Jewish Theological Seminary, among others.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
