Benjamin Nathan (December 20, 1813 – July 28, 1870) was an American investor and philanthropist. He was
bludgeoned to death in his home in 1870, and the notorious murder case remains unsolved despite several trials in the years following his death.
Biography
He was elected a member of the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
in 1836, and became its vice-president in 1851. He served as a director of the
Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and the
Ninth Avenue Street Railway. He also served on the first Board of Directors for
Jews' Hospital. He was also President of
Shearith Israel.
In 1849, he was promoted to colonel and named
aide-de-camp to New York State Governor
Hamilton Fish
Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States Senator from New York from 1851 to 1857 and the 26th United States Secretary of State ...
.
[Adler, Cyrus (1912). ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day.'' ]Funk and Wagnalls
Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...
Supreme Court Judge
Benjamin Nathan Cardozo, his nephew, was born the year Nathan died and was named after him. Nathan's wife Emily G. Nathan died in 1879.
[Staff report (Jan 21, 1879) MRS. NATHAN'S DEATH. Recalling a Murder Whose Mystery Has Not Been Fathomed. '']Chicago Daily Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...
'' They had seven children, including Frederick Nathan and Washington Nathan.
[Nathan-Kazis, Josh (January 13, 2010)]
A Death in the Family.
'' Tablet''
He was murdered on July 28, 1870, in
Manhattan, New York City.
Aaron B. Rollins was the coroner who investigated the death.
Legacy
''Studies in Murder'', a 1924
true crime
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...
book of essays by
Edmund Pearson, is about the murder.
See also
*
List of unsolved murders
These lists of unsolved murders include notable cases where victims were murdered in unknown circumstances.
* List of unsolved murders (before 1900)
* List of unsolved murders (1900–1979)
* List of unsolved murders (1980–1999)
* List of u ...
References
External links
*
1813 births
1870 deaths
Businesspeople from New York City
American people of Portuguese-Jewish descent
19th-century Sephardi Jews
19th-century American Jews
American Sephardic Jews
American stockbrokers
New York Stock Exchange people
Murdered American Jews
Unsolved murders in the United States
Deaths by beating in the United States
People murdered in New York City
Male murder victims
Burials at Beth Olom Cemetery
19th-century American businesspeople
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