Adolf Kraus (February 26, 1850 – October 22, 1928) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, political figure, and

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 ...

leader.

Biography

At the age of 15 he left the Bohemian town of

Rokycany Rokycany (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Admini ...

where he had grown up and emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 (president of Isaiah Temple in Chicago) and a prominent executive of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (nowadays the Union for Reform Judaism). In both the 1891 and 1893 Chicago mayoral elections, Kraus served as the

campaign manager A campaign manager, campaign chairperson, or campaign director is an individual whose role is to coordinate a political campaign's spending, broad tactics, and hiring. They lead operations such as Campaign finance, fundraising, advertising, Opi ...

for Carter Harrison Sr. From 1883 to 1884 and, again, from 1885 to 1886, Kraus served as president of the Chicago Board of Education. Kraus had close contacts to American presidents

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

and

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 ...

. 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 Emigrants from Austria-Hungary 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