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Aug 21, 2026
Nathan Straus
From Macy's Magnate to International Humanitarian
Summary
In New York City in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centauries, Nathan Straus was famous as a co-owner of the Macy’s and Abraham and Straus department stores. He was also a leading Zionist and briefly, in 1894, a Democratic nominee for mayor of New York.
Yet his greatest achievement, Andrew Fisher argues in Nathan Straus: From Macy’s Magnate to International Humanitarian, was his work in public heath—particularly for the pasteurization of milk. Straus, as Fisher shows, worked with serious scientists and used the knack for promotion that he acquired in his business life to promote research and educate the public.
Nathan Straus, published by Rutgers University Press, restores to history a man who was prominent in his time but is almost forgotten today. The book illuminates philanthropy, public health, German Jewry in New York, Zionism, and the history of department stores and retailing.
Fisher is a historian and the retired founding executive of the Lavelle Fund for the Blind. For thirty-five years he worked for charitable foundations in New York City.
Your Host
Robert Snyder
Robert Snyder is professor emeritus of Journalism and American Studies at Rutgers University.
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