Felix Napoleon Gerson (October 18, 1862 – December 13, 1945) was a Jewish-American author, journalist, and newspaper editor from Philadelphia.

Life

Gerson was born on October 18, 1862, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the son of Aaron Gerson and Eva Goldsmith. His father was a German immigrant. Gerson attended public school and the Boys' Central High School, after which he studied civil engineering. He worked for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company at the Port Richmond Coal Terminal from 1880 to 1890 and was ultimately promoted to Department Chief Clerk. During railroad strikes that hit Philadelphia and

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in 1887, he was assigned to the coal docks of

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and was able to end the strike. He also worked as a writer and correspondent for different journals, and in December 1890 he became Managing Editor of the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

edition of ''

The American Israelite ''The American Israelite'' is an English-language Jewish newspaper published weekly in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1854 as ''The Israelite'' and assuming its present name in 1874, it is the longest-running English-language Jewish newspaper st ...

''. He returned to Philadelphia in the summer of 1891 and became business manager of ''The'' ''Jewish Exponent''. He was also on the staff of ''The American Musician'' from 1885 to 1890 and Freund's ''Music and Drama'' from 1896 to 1903. He wrote a volume of poems called "Some Verses" in 1893, and a number of his essays, sketches, and poems appeared in the Jewish and general periodical press. Gerson became managing editor of ''The Jewish Exponent'' in 1908, retaining that position until 1936. He became president of the paper in 1919, and he still held that office by 1941. He was also a staff writer for the Philadelphia '' Public Ledger'' from 1895 to 1916, and in 1902 he became a publication committee member of the

Jewish Publication Society of America The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...

. He translated several German books into English, including Ruben Rothgiesser's ''The Ship of Hope'', Raphael Straus' ''History of the Jews in

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and

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'', and Franz Landsberger's ''Rembrandt, the Jews and the Bible''. The latter translation was published in 1946, after his death. In 1892, Gerson married Emily Goldsmith. Their children were Cecilia (wife of Malvin H. Reinheimer) and Dorothy. Following Emily's death, he married Emma Brylawski in 1937. His sister-in-law was Rose Goldsmith Stern, a prominent Jewish clubwoman in Philadelphia. Gerson died at home on December 13, 1945. His funeral was held at the Chelten Hills crematory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerson, Felix N. 1862 births 1945 deaths Writers from Philadelphia American people of German-Jewish descent 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews Jewish American poets Jewish American journalists 19th-century American newspaper editors 20th-century American newspaper editors Editors of Illinois newspapers Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers American male journalists 20th-century American translators German–English translators 20th-century American poets American male poets Poets from Pennsylvania Jews from Pennsylvania