Abram Isaac Elkus (August 6, 1867 – October 15, 1947), an American ambassador, judge, and public official, was one of the most prominent Jews in American government.

Biography

Elkus was born in New York City on August 6, 1867, the son of Isaac and Julia Elkus, and brought up as an orthodox Jew. He was educated in the city's public schools as well as the College of the City of New York. He earned his law degree at

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1888. Gertrude Elkus

In 1902, Elkus' firm ''James, Schell & Elkus'', merged with a firm headed by

Joseph M. Proskauer Joseph Meyer Proskauer (6 August 1877 – 10 September 1971) was an American lawyer, judge, philanthropist, and political activist and is the name partner of Proskauer Rose. Biography Proskauer was born in Mobile, Alabama, to a Jewish family in 1 ...

, creating the firm of ''Elkus, Gleason & Proskauer'', a predecessor of the law firm of

Proskauer Rose Proskauer Rose LLP (formerly known as Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, LLP) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. Proskauer was founded in 1875 and currently employs more than 800 attorneys in eleven offices worldwide. ...

. In 1910, Elkus was appointed Special Assistant to the United States Attorney for the prosecution of bankruptcy frauds. In 1911 he was Counsel for the New York State Factory Investigating Committee engaged in framing legislation dealing with child labor, working hours for women, fire protection, and similar safeguards for factory workers. Elkus was Chief Counsel for the state commission that investigated the

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest List of industrial disasters, industrial disaster in the history of the city, an ...

. He also served as Chairman of the Reconstruction Commission of this State that proposed a major reorganization of state government to Governor Alfred E. Smith, and for many years he served as a member of the State Board of Regents (which oversees the New York State education system). In 1916 he was appointed by

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

to be the

United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire The United States has maintained many high level contacts with Turkey since the 19th century. Ottoman Empire Chargé d'Affaires * George W. Erving (before 1831) * David Porter (September 13, 1831 – May 23, 1840) Minister Resident * David P ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. While there he also represented the interests of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

which were then at war with the Ottomans. In April 1917, when the United States entered World War I against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, he was recalled, but serious illness prevented his homecoming for many months. The U.S. never declared war against the Ottoman Empire. In

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

and

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

, he ran for Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

, but was twice defeated. On November 12, 1919, Governor Alfred E. Smith appointed him to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William H. Cuddeback. Elkus served on the court until December 31, 1920, and then accepted an appointment as one of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Commissioners to settle the

Åland Islands Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

dispute between Finland and Sweden. On October 15, 1947, he died at his home in

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York metro ...

."DIPLOMAT, LAWYER; U. S. Envoy to Turkey During First World War Succumbs in Red Bank, N. J., at 80 WAS PROSECUTOR, JUDGE Triangle Fire Inquiry Counsel Framed 35 Laws on Child Labor and Other Problems"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 16, 1947. Accessed September 21, 2015. "RED BANK, N. J., Oct. 15 - Abram I. Elkus of New York, former United States Ambassador to Turkey, died here at eight o'clock tonight in his summer home after a long illness."

Notes

References

External links

*, which served as the source for much of this article. {{DEFAULTSORT:Elkus, Abram Isaac City College of New York alumni Columbia Law School alumni Ambassadors of the United States to the Ottoman Empire Judges of the New York Court of Appeals 1867 births 1947 deaths People from Red Bank, New Jersey Jews from New York (state) Proskauer Rose people 20th-century American diplomats Jewish American government officials American lawyers