Lyon Cohen (born Yehuda Leib Cohen; May 11, 1868 – August 17, 1937) was a Polish-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businessman and a philanthropist. He was the grandfather of singer/poet

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

Biography

Cohen was born in

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, to a

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 ...

family on May 11, 1868.The Quebec History Encyclopedia: Lyon Cohen
retrieved April 22, 2012 He immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1871. He was educated at the McGill Model School and the Catholic Commercial Academy in Montreal. In 1888, he entered the firm of Lee & Cohen in Montreal; later became partner with his father in the firm of L. Cohen & Son; in 1895, he established W. R. Cuthbert & Co; in 1900, he organized the Canadian Improvement Co., a dredging contractor; in 1906, he founded The Freedman Co. in Montreal; and in May 1919, he organized and became President of Canadian Export Clothiers, Ltd. The Freedman Company went on to become one of Montreal’s largest clothing companies. In 1897, Cohen and Samuel William Jacobs founded the ''Canadian Jewish Times'', the first English-language Jewish newspaper in Canada.Cohen, Lyon
Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee National Archives The newspaper promoted the

Canadianization The culture of Canada embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced firstly by its indigenous culture ...

of recent East European Jewish immigrants and encouraged their acceptance of Canadian customs as Cohen felt that the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

customs of immigrant Jews were one of the main causes of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. In 1914, the paper was purchased by

Hirsch Wolofsky Hirsch (Harry) Wolofsky (1878–1949), was a Canadian Yiddish author, publisher/editor and business owner. Biography Wolofsky was born in Szydłowiec, Poland, into an Hasidic community. He received a traditional Jewish education until orphane ...

, owner of the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

-language ''

Keneder Adler ''Der Keneder Adler'' () was Canada's leading Yiddish newspaper from 1907 until 1977. Founded in Montreal by Hirsch Wolofsky, the ''Adler'' underpinned Yiddish cultural activity in the city for much of the 20th century. History After losing his ...

'', who transformed it into the '' Canadian Jewish Chronicle''. He died on August 17, 1937, at the age of 69.

Philanthropy

Cohen was elected the first president of the

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC; ; ; ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for Hum ...

in 1919 and organized the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Canada. Cohen was also a leader of the Young Men’s Hebrew Benevolent Society (later the Baron de Hirsch Institute) and the United Talmud Torahs, a Jewish day school in Montreal.Newspapers of Jewish Montreal"
(page 3), Jewish Public Library Archives. He also served as president of

Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Congregation Shaar Hashomayim () is an Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi synagogue in Westmount, Quebec, Westmount, Quebec. Incorporated in 1846, it is the Oldest synagogues in Canada, oldest Ashkenazi synagogue in Canada and the largest traditional sy ...

and president of the

Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA; ) was an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling ...

in Canada.

Personal life

Cohen married Rachel Friedman of Montreal on February 17, 1891. She was the founder and President of Jewish Endeavour Sewing School. They had three sons and one daughter: *Nathan Bernard Cohen, who served as a lieutenant in the World War; he married

Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

immigrant Masha Klonitsky and they had one daughter and one son: **Esther Cohen and **singer/poet

. *Horace Rives Cohen, who was a captain and quartermaster of his battalion in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; *Lawrence Zebulun Cohen, student at McGill University, andCanadian Jewish News: "Earliest Canadian-made chanukiyah discovered"
November 26, 2012 *Sylvia Lillian Cohen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Lyon 1868 births 1937 deaths Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian Jewish Congress members Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish mass media Canadian Jews Canadian philanthropists Naturalized citizens of Canada Polish emigrants to Canada Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada