Oscar Straus

About

United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under Theodore Roosevelt who was the first Jewish U.S. Cabinet member. In 1912 he made an unsuccessful bid to be the Governor of New York.

Before Fame

He emigrated from Otterberg, Germany to Talbotton, Georgia when he was young.

Trivia

He served as U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 19th century.

Family Life

His brother Isidor was a co-owner of Macy's and representative from New York who perished on the RMS Titanic.

Associated With

He paved the way for other Jewish cabinet members like Henry Kissinger.