Elinor Steiner Gimbel (August 5, 1896 – March 3, 1983) was an American progressive leader and women's rights activist.

Biography

She was born Elinor Steiner to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in 1896, the daughter of Sadie (née Liebmann) and Samuel Simon Steiner. Her mother, the daughter of

Joseph Liebmann Joseph Liebmann (December 20, 1831 – March 26, 1913) was a German-born American brewer and president of S. Liebmann Brewery (later Rheingold Breweries) in Brooklyn, New York. The brewery's main brand Rheingold Extra Dry was one of the most po ...

, belonged to the family that owned Liebmann Breweries; and her father was the owner of S. S. Steiner, Inc, then the largest hop distributor in the country. In 1914, she graduated from the

Calhoun School The Calhoun School is a progressive, co-educational, independent school on New York City's Upper West Side, serving students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Founded in 1896, the school currently has approximately 600 students, housed in two sepa ...

. In the 1930s, Gimbel was motivated by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

to become politically active. In 1940, Gimbel established the Non-Partisan Committee to support Roosevelt's third term in office. After the death of her second husband during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she founded the Committee for the Care of Children in Wartime which focused on the lack of government support provided to working mothers. In 1947, Gimbel and

Anita McCormick Blaine Anita Eugenie McCormick Blaine (1866-1954) was an American philanthropist and political activist. An heir to the McCormick Reaping Machine Works fortune built by her father, Cyrus McCormick (1809–1884), Blaine funded the launch of Chicago's Franci ...

of Chicago (a daughter and heiress of

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

) were the two major funders of the

Progressive Citizens of America Progressive Citizens of America (PCA) was a social-democratic and democratic socialist American political organization formed in December 1946 that advocated progressive policies, which worked with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) ...

(PCA) group. She also joined the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Italy ...

serving as its "women's voice." She was chair of the Women For Wallace (WFW) committee which supported Progressive Party candidate

Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...

over

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

whom she deemed the "accidental occupant of the White House." Although Jewish, she did not tie her progressive activism with

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

and hosted lavish Christmas parties at her home in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

before, during, and after

. Later in life she endorsed Ronald Reagan for President because "Carter was a flop". Gimbel served as an executive at S. S. Steiner, Inc. and Liebmann Breweries.

Personal life

Gimbel married twice. She had a son, Nicholas Hess, with her first husband, Monroe Hess, whom she married after she graduated from the Calhoun School; they later divorced. In 1924, she married Louis S. Gimbel, Jr., grandson of

Adam Gimbel Adam Gimbel (1817–1896) was the founder of the Gimbel Brothers Company. Biography Gimbel was born to a Jewish family in Bavaria in 1817 where he worked in the local baron's vineyard.Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

– was killed while a passenger in a Army Air Corps transport plane crash over

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

in 1942. She and her husband are buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

in Virginia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gimbel, Elinor S. 1896 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American Jews Gimbel family Liebmann family Burials at Arlington National Cemetery