Gratz, Rebecca

Gratz, Rebecca

▪ American philanthropist
born March 4, 1781, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.
died Aug. 27, 1869, Philadelphia
 American philanthropist who was a proponent of Jewish education and a pioneer in establishing charitable institutions.

      Gratz grew up a celebrated beauty in a home frequently visited by the painters Edward Malbone (Malbone, Edward Greene) and Thomas Sully (Sully, Thomas) (both of whom made portraits of her) and by Washington Irving (Irving, Washington) and Fanny Kemble (Kemble, Fanny). In 1801 she helped organize and became first secretary of the Female Association for the Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances. In 1815 she helped found the Philadelphia Orphan Asylum, of which she served as secretary from 1819 to 1859. In 1819 she organized and became secretary of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society.

      In 1838, after some 20 years of active interest in improving religious education for Jewish children, Gratz, through the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, founded the Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia, of which she served as president until 1864. The society was the first such organization in the United States and served as a model for others like it. The fame she enjoyed in her own day and the enduring interest in her rest not on her philanthropies, however, but on the well attested tradition that she served as the model for the heroine Rebecca in Sir Walter Scott (Scott, Sir Walter, 1st Baronet)'s Ivanhoe (1819).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • GRATZ, REBECCA — (1781–1869), founder and leader of innovative organizations concerned with women and children. Gratz was born in Philadelphia, the middle child of ten in the family of Michael and Miriam Simon Gratz. She received an elite education at the Young… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Gratz, Rebecca — (1781 1869)    American philan thropist. She is reputed to have been the model for Rebecca in Walter Scott s novel Ivanhoe. She lived in Philadelphia, where she aided in founding the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, the Hebrew Sunday School… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Rebecca Gratz — (March 4, 1781 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania August 27, 1869 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a preeminent Jewish American educator and philanthropist.Gratz was the seventh of twelve children born to Miriam Simon and Michael Gratz. Her mother was… …   Wikipedia

  • Rebecca Gratz — (* 4. März 1781 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; † 27. August 1869 ebenda) war eine US amerikanische Philanthropin. Gratz kam als siebtes von zwölf Kindern der Eheleute Miriam Simon und Michael Gratz zur Welt. Ihre Mutter war die Tochter von Joseph… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Veronika Gratz —  Veronika Gratz Informationen über die Spielerin Geburtstag 25. Mai 1992 Geburtsort Garmisch Partenkirchen, Deutschland Größe 178 cm Position Tor …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ivanhoe — infobox Book | name = Ivanhoe orig title = translator = caption = Ivanhoe UK paperback cover ifdc| log=2008 May 17 author = Sir Walter Scott cover artist = country = United Kingdom language = English series = Waverley Novels genre = Historical… …   Wikipedia

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