Ludwig Behr Bernstein (May 4, 1870 – December 27, 1944) was a Latvian-American Jewish-American sociologist and social worker.

Early life and education

Bernstein was born on May 4, 1870, in

Mitau Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

Courland Governorate Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland or Governorate of Kurland, and known from 1795 to 1796 as the Viceroyalty of Courland, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the ...

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 ...

, the son of Moses Bernstein and Rasya Loevinsohn. He immigrated to America in 1892. Bernstein attended the Gymnasium Academicum in Mitau, graduating from there with a Testimonium maturitatis in 1890. He then went to the New York University School of Pedagogy and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He graduated from the latter with an A.M. in 1894 and a Ph.D. in 1897. He initially worked as an instructor in public schools in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

. From 1898 to 1903, he worked as an instructor in Latin and German at DeWitt Clinton High School. In 1903, he passed the examination for the position of 1st assistant vice-principal in high schools, the only Jew to hold that position at the time.

Career

In 1903, Bernstein became managing director of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Orphan Asylum in Pleasantville. He held that position for fifteen years, during which time he organized and developed one of the largest cottage home plans in the country for the care and education of dependent children as well as the Home Bureau of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society, the first comprehensive Jewish foster home bureau. He then worked as executive director of the Bureau of Social Research in New York City, conducting surveys on child welfare and juvenile delinquency in the Jewish communities of

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 ...

and

Philadelphia 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 ...

in 1919 and New York City in 1920. In 1921, he moved to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and became director of the local Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. He began lecturing for the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Department of Philosophy in 1925, and in 1928 he became special lecturer on child care at the Graduate School of Jewish Social Work in New York City. Bernstein was a member of a committee that studied and inspected child-caring institutions in New York City from 1915 to 1916. In the 1930s, he was a pioneer in the movement to establish Jewish community councils in American cities. He wrote numerous articles for the ''Proceedings of the New York State Conferences of Social Work'' and the ''Proceedings of the National Conferences of Social Works''. He wrote several books, including ''The Order of Words in Old Norse Prose'' in 1897, ''How 500 Children Live and Learn'' in 1914, and ''Questions and Suggestions With Regard to Child Care in Institutions and Agencies'' in 1918. He also participated in the first White House conference on child welfare at the invitation of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

. He retired as executive director of the Pittsburgh Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in 1937, after which he moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Bernstein was chairman of the child welfare section of the New York State Conferences of Charities, chairman of the Social Service Exchange of Pittsburgh, president of the Allegheny Board of Visitors, director of the Pittsburgh Federation of Social Agencies, an executive committee member of the Pennsylvania State Conference of the National Child Labor Committee, president of the National Conference of Jewish Social Service in 1925, president of the New York Association Modern Language Teachers from 1900 to 1902, president of the Social Workers Club, honorary president of Askon, and a member of

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the se ...

. He attended Congregation Rodef Shalom.

Personal life

In 1899, he married Sophia Kivman. Their children were Evelyn Krohn, Marie Namser, Pauline Oseroff, and Stanley Burnshaw. In 1936, he married Ethel Deborah Lipman in New York City in a ceremony performed by

Solomon Lowenstein Solomon Lowenstein (March 3, 1877 – January 20, 1942) was an American rabbi, social worker, and philanthropist. Life Lowenstein was born on March 3, 1877, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Levi Lowenstein and Diana Newmayer. Lowenstei ...

. Bernstein died at St. Vincent's Hospital in Los Angeles from a two-day illness that followed a heart attack on December 27, 1944. He was buried in Westview Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

References

1870 births 1944 deaths People from Jelgava 19th-century Latvian Jews 19th-century Latvian people American people of Latvian-Jewish descent Jews from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Columbia University alumni Schoolteachers from New York (state) 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews American Reform Jews American sociologists American social workers People from Pleasantville, New York People from Pittsburgh Academics from Los Angeles {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Ludwig B.