Historical records matching Maurice Beck Hexter
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About Maurice Beck Hexter
A noted sociologist and Jewish communal leader, he also became a respected sculptor in his retirement.
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/29/obituaries/maurice-b-hexter-99-a-...
Maurice Beck Hexter was born on June 30, 1891 in Cincinnati Ohio to Max Hexter and Sarah Beck Hexter. His father ran a small candy store. Since both parents emigrated from Germany, Hexter grew up speaking German as his first language. He worked as a newsboy, selling in all parts of Cincinnati including the red light district.
Hexter graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1912. He considered a career as a political science professor but was advised against it because of his religion. Through his work teaching English at the Jewish Settlement House, Hexter became interested in a career in social work. In 1913, he entered the office of the United Jewish Charities of Cincinnati, directed by Dr. Boris Bogen. Hexter became the director of the Federation of Jewish Charities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1914 before returning to Cincinnati to succeed Bogen as superintendent in 1916.
When the opportunity came to move to Boston, as the Executive Director of the Federation of Jewish Charities in 1919, Hexter readily accepted. He stayed until 1929, serving simultaneously as an instructor in Social Ethics at Harvard. He received a Ph.D. in Social Ethics from Harvard in 1924. Hexter also served during this period as a representative of the United Jewish Campaign commission investigating conditions in Russia and Eastern Europe as well as a special investigator in Mexico for the Emergency Committee on Jewish Refugees. Accompanying him on his trip to Russia was Jacob Billikopf, son-in-law of Louis Marshall.
Hexter's work as the secretary of the Joint Palestine Survey Committee (1927-1929) led him to develop a stronger interest in Palestine. In 1929, Hexter was appointed as a non-Zionist member of the Council of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, although he resigned that same year to become a member of the Executive of the Agency. He remained with the Agency until 1938. Hexter moved to Jerusalem in 1929 to direct the Palestine Emergency Fund. During 1930-31 he was heavily involved in the negotiating committee with the British cabinet. In 1935, he took over as head of the Agency's colonization department.
Following his return to the United States, Hexter was the assistant to Dr. Solomon Lowenstein, Executive Vice-President for the New York Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies. By 1941, Hexter had become co-executive vice-president with Joseph Willen. After 1967, he remained active as a consultant to the Federation. Hexter was a key figure in establishing social work schools at Hunter College, Brandeis University and Yeshiva University. In later years, he received acclaim as a sculptor.
Maurice Hexter married Marguerite Mock, whom he met in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 11, 1921. They had one daughter, Marjorie Hexter Cohen, born in 1930.
Maurice Hexter died October 28, 1990 in New York City. In that same year, his autobiography (co-written with Murray Teigh Bloom) entitled Life Size was published by Phoenix Publishing.
http://americanjewisharchives.org/collections/ms0338/
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Maurice Beck Hexter's Timeline
| 1891 |
June 30, 1891
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Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, United States
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| 1990 |
October 28, 1990
Age 99
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New York, NY, United States
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