Charles S. Bernheimer

Born in Philadelphia to immigrants from Bavaria and Baden, Charles S. Bernheimer was raised in a middle-class, traditional family of German Jewish background. In 1887, he graduated from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance, and in 1896, obtained his doctorate in political science with his dissertation titled “Public Education in Philadelphia.” Bernheimer became an organizer, social worker, and Jewish educational professional, working with the Jewish Publication Society of America (1890–1906), the Hebrew Educational Society of Brooklyn (1910–1919), and the National Jewish Welfare Board (1921–1940), where he was the national community director. He was a union organizer and was active in the 1909 Triangle Shirtwaist Strike.