Julius Rosenwald

Julius Rosenwald was a Jewish American business executive and philanthropist. He was the long-time president and an owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company, a large and successful Chicago-based national retailer in the early 20th century. His Rosenwald Fund donated millions in matching funds to promote Black American education. Together with Booker T Washington, they built close to 5000 schools, many of them in the segregated south and provided fellowships to close to one thousand grantees. In 1919 Rosenwald was appointed to the Chicago Commission on Race Relations. He was the principal founder and benefactor of the Museum of Science and Industry, serving as president from 1927 to 1932.