Milton S. Florsheim (July 27, 1868 – December 22, 1936), was the chairman of the board and founder of

Florsheim Shoes Florsheim Shoes is a shoe brand in the United States. History Florsheim & Co. was founded in 1892 by Milton S. Florsheim. He and his father Sigmund Florsheim made the first shoes in Chicago. Eventually, some stores were owned by and selling on ...

Biography

Florsheim was born to a Jewish family in

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

on July 27, 1868, the son of Henriette (née Nusbaum) and Sigmund Florsheim.Who's who in Chicago and Illinois, Volume 1, p 209
/ref> Shortly before he started grade school, the Florsheim family relocated to the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area. He attended Chicago public schools. He worked in his father's shoe store before founding Florsheim Shoes in 1892. Florsheim was connected with the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

and the Jewish Charities of Chicago and was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. In 1894, he married Gertrude Stern; they had two sons, Irving S. and Harold Milton (1900-1987). Harold was married to artist Claire Florsheim Zeisler. Irving's daughter Nancy married architect

Bertrand Goldberg Bertrand Goldberg (July 17, 1913 – October 8, 1997) was an American architect and industrial designer, best known for the Marina City complex in Chicago, Illinois, the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world at the time of complet ...

; and Irving's daughter, Mary, was married to actor and singer Allan Jones. Florsheim died on December 22, 1936, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California, aged 68. He was interred at Rosehill Mausoleum in

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is an American garden cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. According to legend, the name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the ar ...

, Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Florsheim, Milton S. 1868 births 1936 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Montreal American Jews Florsheim family Canadian emigrants to the United States Burials at Rosehill Cemetery