David Lubin
David Lubin | |
|---|---|
 Lubin, in Rome | |
| Born | 10 June 1849 |
| Died | 1 January 1919 Rome,Italy |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Children | Simon J. Lubin, Simon had 4 siblings and 3 half siblings: Dorothy Sophie Lubin Heller, Grace Lubin Finesinger, Theodore Lubin |
| Relatives | Harris Weinstock(half-brother) |
David Lubin(10 June 1849 – 1 January 1919) was a merchant and agriculturalist. He was pivotal in founding theInternational Institute of Agriculturein 1908, inRome.
Biography[edit]
He was born inKłodawa,[citation needed]Poland.His family moved toEnglandin 1853. On his father's death, David's mother married again and they emigrated to America. He received a scant education and at an early age was placed in a jewelry factory inAttleboro, Massachusetts.Finding slight opportunity of advancement there he drifted toCalifornia.He reachedSacramento,and after working at odd jobs he amassed sufficient funds to start a dry goods store of his own. He dealt largely in overalls and thus came in contact with the farmers of California, and as he met them in person he learned something of their problems. [1]He started a prosperous mail order business with his half-brother Harris Weinstock and his sister Jeanette Levy. Lubin's One Price Store later became known as Weinstock, Lubin & Co..[citation needed][2]
While in Sacramento, he bought a fruit ranch near Sacramento[1]and land for raising wheat.[citation needed]His knowledge of agriculture assisted him when he helped found the California Fruit Growers' Union. He then helped settle Eastern European Jewish refugees who worked on various farms in the area and, in 1891, he became the director of the International Society for the Colonization of Russian Jews. He then began to campaign for subsidies and protection for farmers, initially in California but eventually on an international scale.[citation needed]
In his new vocation of farmer, there came to him the idea of an international agricultural congress, whereby one side of the globe might learn what the other side was producing and how and at what cost. He began collecting statistics on the subject, studied plant life and domestic animals and made investigations into their diseases and sought remedies.[1]His son, Simon, helped him develop a proposal for an international chamber of agriculture. In 1896, David Lubin moved toEuropeto implement the proposal.[citation needed]Around the same time, Weinstock, Lubin & Co. became known asWeinstock's,a department store chain which ceased operations in 1995.
In Italy, in 1904, KingVictor Emmanuel IIIsaw the need for such an institution and gave it his ardent support, giving a building for the congress and an annual income of $60,000.[1]In May 1905, the International Institute of Agriculture (the IIA) opened in Rome. The Institute's goals were to help farmers share knowledge, produce systematically, establish a cooperative system of rural credit, and have control over the marketing of their products. At the first gathering 40 nations were represented. In 1906, Lubin was appointed the permanent U.S. delegate to the IIA. In 1913 on the occasion of the meeting of the congress in Rome Mr. Lubin received a silver cup as a token of appreciation of his efforts in originating the organization.[citation needed]By 1919, 53 nations were represented at the IIA gatherings.[1]
The IIA ceased operations in 1945. Several of its assets were transferred to the United Nations'Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO). The mandate of international cooperation in the field of agriculture is continued by the FAO, which named its library in honor of David Lubin. The David Lubin Memorial Library (DLML) maintains the personal archives of David Lubin and the collection of the IIA library.[3]It accepts visitors who would like to research these materials in person.[4]
The U.S. Federal Farm Act (1916), whose founding ideas and policies can be seen to be influenced by Lubin and the International Institute of Agriculture, introduced rural credit and contributed to the relief of American farmers during the Great Depression. Similarly, Lubin's successful fight for the lowering of oppressive freight rates also helped lead to the development of the parcel post system. He also took a keen interest in farmers' co-operative societies and granges and was interested in oceanic shipping. He introduced a national marketing proposal on the lines of the GermanLandwirtschaftsrat.[citation needed]
In addition, Lubin wrote essays and treatises. His novel,Let There be Light,proposed a universal world religion. He died in the1918 flu pandemic,aged 69 on January 1, 1919.[5]
Legacy[edit]
The centenary of IIA was celebrated by ISTAT (Italian Statistics Office) and FAO and its Statistics Division on 28 May 2008 in Rome.[6]
TheWestern Jewish History Center,of theJudah L. Magnes Museum,inBerkeley, Californiahas a large collection of papers, correspondence, publications, and photographs of David Lubin.[7]
David Lubin Elementary School[8]is located in theEast Sacramentoneighborhood of Sacramento, CA, a few blocks from the site of David Lubin's former home.[citation needed]
Notes[edit]
- ^abcdeRines 1920.
- ^"Weinstock, Lubin, and Co.",Department Store Museum
- ^David Lubin Memorial Library (DLML)
- ^See thebiographyof David Lubin, hosted on the website of FAO.
- ^"David Lubin Memorial Library: David Lubin: An Appreciation".
- ^"Statistics Division".ISTAT. 28 May 2008.
- ^Western Jewish History CenterArchivedJune 14, 2006, at theWayback Machine,of theJudah L. Magnes MuseumArchived2008-02-09 at theWayback Machine,in Berkeley, California
- ^"History of David Lubin",David Lubin Elementary School
References[edit]
- Agresti, Olivia Rossetti (1922).David Lubin: A Study in Practical Idealism.Boston: Little, Brown & Company [University of California Press, 1941].
- Marcosson, Isaac F. (1906)."Mr. David Lubin and his Work,"The World's Work12,May/October, pp. 8021–8023.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920)..Encyclopedia Americana.
External links[edit]
- Works by or about David LubinatInternet Archive
- Slide show on the life of David Lubin
- Feeding the World, a biography of David Lubin,Kirkus Book Review
- Feeding the World, A biography of David Lubinby Azriel Eisenberg, Amazon Books
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