One of two public schools here was today named after the late Samuel Gompers, one of the three presidents the American Federation of Labor has had and the best known American labor leader until his death in 1924. The Board of Education of the District of Columbia also named a school after the late Simon Wolf, jurist, publicist and diplomat.
Mr. Wolf, for many years known as “the Jewish ambassador in Washington,” because of his many efforts on behalf of Jewry, was well known as an orator and from 1903 to 1905 was president of the B’nai B’rith. From 1869 to 1878 he was recorder of the District of Columbia and in 1881 was named American consul general in Egypt.
In his capacity as chairman of the Board of Delegates of Civil and Religious Rights he had many occasions for submitting to the Federal government grave questions of Jewish interest.
Samuel Gompers, who was one of the founders of the American Federation of Labor, was not closely identified with Jewish movements but by virtue of his able service to American labor for more than forty years he probably brought as much credit to American Jewry as any other Jew in the country.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
