Theodor Rudolph Hertzberg (June 6, 1817 – March 18, 1903) was a businessman, editor, publisher and state legislator in Texas. He served in the state senate during the contentious

Twelfth Texas Legislature The Twelfth Texas Legislature met from February 8, 1870 to December 2, 1871 in four sessions — provisional, called, regular, and adjourned. Senate There were incidents with Indian marauders and cattle thieves in Texas and on May 6, 1870, Senator ...

. He became an immigration commissioner and then a diplomat later in his career.

Life and career

Hertzberg was born in

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. He studied at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

before emigrating. He arrived at

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

on December 2, 1849. He moved to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, was a partner in a tobacconist shop, and became a naturalized citizen on April 11, 1856. He was a member of the Casino Club and helped organize a German-English School. An anti-slavery Unionist, He lived in Mexico during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He took over a German language newspaper. He was elected a state senator in 1870 representing Menard County. He was then appointed to public office. He later became a U.S. diplomat in Europe. He eventually returned to San Antonio. His home there at 155 Crofton Avenue where he lived with his wife and family until he died March 18, 1903, was designated a Texas historical landmark in 1963. Sidney J. Brooks Jr., a pilot who died training for World War I, for whom

Brooks Air Force Base Brooks Air Force Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio. In 2002, Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Developmen ...

is named, also lived in the house.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hertzberg, Theodor Rudolph 1817 births 1903 deaths People from Halberstadt Texas state senators University of Jena alumni American people of German descent 19th-century American politicians Radical Republicans American abolitionists