Elinor Steiner Gimbel (August 5, 1896 – March 3, 1983) was an American progressive leader and women's rights activist.

Biography

She was born Elinor Steiner to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in 1896, the daughter of Sadie (née Liebmann) and Samuel Simon Steiner. Her mother, the daughter of Joseph Liebmann, belonged to the family that owned Liebmann Breweries; and her father was the owner of S. S. Steiner, Inc, then the largest hop distributor in the country. In 1914, she graduated from the Calhoun School. In the 1930s, Gimbel was motivated by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and

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New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

to become politically active. In 1940, Gimbel established the Non-Partisan Committee to support Roosevelt's third term in office. After the death of her second husband during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she founded the Committee for the Care of Children in Wartime which focused on the lack of government support provided to working mothers. In 1947, Gimbel and Anita McCormick Blaine of Chicago (a daughter and heiress of Cyrus McCormick) were the two major funders of the Progressive Citizens of America (PCA) group. She also joined the Progressive Party serving as its "women's voice." She was chair of the Women For Wallace (WFW) committee which supported Progressive Party candidate Henry A. Wallace over Harry S. Truman whom she deemed the "accidental occupant of the White House." Although Jewish, she did not tie her progressive activism with

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

and hosted lavish Christmas parties at her home in

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before, during, and after

. Later in life she endorsed Ronald Reagan for President because "Carter was a flop". Gimbel served as an executive at S. S. Steiner, Inc. and Liebmann Breweries.

Personal life

Gimbel married twice. She had a son, Nicholas Hess, with her first husband, Monroe Hess, whom she married after she graduated from the Calhoun School; they later divorced. In 1924, she married Louis S. Gimbel Jr., grandson of Adam Gimbel; they had two sons, Louis (Tom) S. Gimbel III and Stinor Gimbel. Her husband – who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Transport Command Army Air Corps – was killed while a passenger in an Army Air Corps transport plane crash over

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

in 1942. She and her husband are buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

in Virginia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gimbel, Elinor S. 1896 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American Jews Elinor Liebmann family Burials at Arlington National Cemetery