Adolf Kraus (February 26, 1850 – October 22, 1928) was an American lawyer, political figure, and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

leader. At the age of 15 he left the Bohemian town of

Rokycany Rokycany (; german: Rokitzan) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Rokycany is made up o ...

where he had grown up and emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He worked on a farm and in a factory, later settling in Chicago where he completed his law studies before becoming a lawyer. He is one of the founding partner in the law firm of Kraus and Mayer which is one of the legacy firms that later formed Mayer Brown. In 1897 he was the second president of the civil service commission. He also became a grand officer of

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peo ...

(president of Isaiah Temple in Chicago) and a prominent executive of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (nowadays the

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establishe ...

). In both the

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. ** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...

and

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

Chicago mayoral elections, Kraus served as the campaign manager for Carter Harrison Sr. From 1883 to 1884 and, again, from 1885 to 1886, Kraus served as

president of the Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education is led by a president. The current President of the Chicago Board of Education is Miguel del Valle. Since the 1995 Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act went into effect, the president has been directly appointed b ...

. Kraus had close contacts to American presidents

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

and

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. In his position he also helped Czech and Jewish immigrants to the USA. In 1930 a commemorative plaque of Adolf Kraus was unveiled in the town of Rokycany, on the house where he spent his childhood. However, in the 1940s, during the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, the plaque was pulled down. The house (No.147 in Havlíčkova ulice Street) was demolished in the 1980s.

Notes

Sources

Adolf Kraus Sends Good Wishes to President Harding, ''New York Times'' 1921 article

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kraus, Adolf 1850 births 1928 deaths People from Blovice Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States American people of Czech-Jewish descent Naturalized citizens of the United States 19th-century American lawyers Presidents of the Chicago Board of Education