Nathan S. Jonas

JONAS, NATHAN S. (1868–1943), U.S. banker and philanthropist. Jonas was born in Montgomery, Alabama, and was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. Starting work at the age of 13 as an errand boy, Jonas became a traveling salesman and then went into the insurance business. In 1905 he was made president of a new bank, which later became the Manufacturers Trust Company, and led it until 1931, when its total resources were $327 million, with 45 unit offices. Active in civic and philanthropic affairs, Jonas was a founder and president of the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, organizer and first president of the Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities, and a member of the New York City Board of Education during 1902–09. He wrote an autobiography, Through the Years (1940).

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.