Dorothy Rosenman (1900 – 17 January 1991) was an expert on housing, a lifelong advocate for low-cost housing and an author.

Early life and education

Rosenman was born Dorothy Ruben in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She graduated from the Montessori Training School in 1918, while also attending

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

Rosenman worked to educate both the public and legislators about the need for community improvement and planning. Rosenman's career in public housing began in the 1920s, when asked by Ira Robbins (chairman of the housing committee of the United Neighborhood Houses, to amend old tenement laws. During the early years of World War II, Rosenman spent time in Washington, D.C., urging the United States War Department to release much-needed materials for emergency housing. She served as the chairman of the National Committee on the Housing Emergency. Rosenman served on many committees throughout her career, including NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia's Committee on Housing Legislation. She served as chairman and organizer of the National Committee on Housing, Inc., as chairman of the committee working to create a New York State Division of Housing, and as chairman of the Housing Committee of the United Neighborhood Houses of New York. The latter worked for better housing conditions on the Lower East Side of New York. In addition to books, Rosenman wrote many magazine articles on housing.

Personal life

Dorothy was married to

Samuel Rosenman Samuel Irving Rosenman (February 13, 1896 – June 24, 1973) was an American lawyer, judge, Democratic Party activist and presidential speechwriter. He coined the term "New Deal", and helped articulate liberal policies during the heyday of the ...

, a lawyer and Democratic speechwriter. The pair were working together on their book ''Presidential Style''; after Samuel died, in 1973, the couple's editor,

Cass Canfield Augustus Cass Canfield (April 26, 1897 – March 27, 1986) was an American publishing executive who was the longtime president and chairman of Harper & Brothers, later Harper & Row. Early life Canfield was the son of Augustus Cass Canfield (185 ...

, encouraged Dorothy to finish the book. Dorothy and her husband had two sons.

Publications

* Rosenman, Dorothy. ''A Million Homes a Year''. Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1945. * Rosenman, Dorothy. ''Needed: Five Million Homes''. National Committee on Housing, 1945. * Rosenman, Dorothy and Samuel Rosenman, ''Presidential Style: Some Giants and a Pygmy in the White House''. Harper & Row, 1976.

References

External links

Dorothy Rosenman papers
at

Columbia University Libraries Columbia University Libraries is the library system of Columbia University and one of the largest academic library systems in North America. With 15.0 million volumes and over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources ...

Reminiscences of Dorothy R. Rosenman (oral history)
at

Oral History Interview with Dorothy Rosenman
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenman, Dorothy 1900 births 1991 deaths American housing rights activists American political activists American social activists 20th-century American women writers