Solomon Hirsch

Solomon Hirsch (March 25, 1839 – December 15, 1902) was a businessman and United States politician from the state of Oregon. He was one of the leaders of Portland's early Jewish community.[1]

Solomon Hirsch
BornMarch 25, 1839
DiedDecember 15, 1902 (age 63)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman
Politician
Ambassador
Known forCo-founder of Fleischner, Mayer and Co.
President of the Oregon State Senate
Spouse(s)Josephine Mayer
Children4

Biography

With Jacob Mayer[2][3] and Louis Fleischner, Hirsch was one of the founders of Fleischner, Mayer and Co., the largest wholesale dry goods company on the West Coast.[1] He served as president of the Oregon State Senate during the 1880 session. He was a Republican.

He served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire from 1889–1892.[4]

Hirsch was buried at Beth Israel Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.

Family and legacy
Hirsch memorial wing at the Portland Art Museum

Hirsch's wife Josephine was the leader of the Portland Equal Suffrage League.[1][5] Josephine was the daughter of Solomon's business partner Jacob Mayer;[1] they had 4 children: of Ella Hirsch (born 1871); Sanford Hirsch (born 1873); May Hirsch (born 1875), and Clementine Hirsch (born 1880). Like his partner Louis Fleischner, Hirsch's brother Edward (see entry on German Wikipedia) served as Oregon State Treasurer.

A wing at the Portland Art Museum was dedicated to Solomon and Josephine Hirsch in 1939 after their daughter Ella bequeathed $853,000 ($12.7 million in today's dollars) to the museum.[6]

References
  1. "Portland Equal Suffrage League and the Council of Jewish Women in the 1912 Woman Suffrage Campaign". Century of Action Oregon Women Vote 1912-2012.
  2. "Jacob Mayer, Pioneer Merchant, Is Dead". The Oregon Daily Journal. December 31, 1908.
  3. "Jacob Meyer Dies At His Home In Portland". San Francisco Call, Volume 105, Number 32. January 1, 1909.
  4. "President Benjamin Harrison Names Solomon Hirsch Minister to Turkey". Shapell Manuscript Collection. Shapell Manuscript Foundation.
  5. Schechter, Patricia A. (September 28, 2017). "Biography of Josephine Hirsch, 1855-1924". Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920.
  6. "The Ella Hirsch Legacy Society: The Impact of a Legacy Gift". Portland Art Museum. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
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