On this day in 1848, Nathan Straus was born in Bavaria, Germany. He would go on to be a giant of American retail as co-owner of the New York department stores Macy’s and Abraham and Straus, known to shoppers as A&S. With his parents and three siblings, Straus emigrated to the United States in 1854. After the Civil War, the family moved from Georgia to New York where, in the last decade of the 19th century, Nathan and his brother, Isidor, built their powerhouse stores. The stores, one in Manhattan and the other in Brooklyn, accrued tremendous wealth in the process. Seven years after acquiring R.H. Macy & Co., Nathan and Isidor moved the store from its original location on 6th Avenue, between 13th and 14th streets, to what would become its signature flagship building in Herald Square on 34th Street. Over time, the store would expand to take up an entire city block. Isidor Straus eventually died on the Titanic in 1912. Nathan Straus used his fortune to become one of the nation’s greatest philanthropists, devoting much of his generosity to the cause of children’s health. In particular, his energies contributed to the success of the efforts to fight childhood diseases caused by contaminated milk. Straus was also devoted to feeding poor and orphaned children; his efforts were recognized by President William Howard Taft in both 1911 and 1912, with appointments to international conferences on children’s health. After a trip with his wife, Lina, to Palestine in 1904, Straus became infatuated with the Holy Land and undertook various philanthropic efforts there as well. Once again, health-related causes were at the forefront of their giving. This included founding the Jerusalem Health Center in 1927. In recognition of his Zionism, and love for the Jewish people, the town of Netanya, founded in 1927, was named in his honor. Straus died in New York City in 1931.