Caroline Bamberger Fuld
| Caroline Bamberger Fuld | |
|---|---|
 Carrie Fuld in c. 1920. | |
| Born |
Caroline Bamberger March 16, 1864 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | July 18, 1944 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) |
Louis Frank (m. 1883–1910) Felix Fuld (m. 1913–29) |
Caroline (Bamberger) Frank Fuld (March 16, 1864 – July 18, 1944) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist most noted for co-founding (with her brother Louis Bamberger) the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Fuld, who was called "Carrie", grew up in Baltimore, the fifth of six children born to Elkan Bamberger, who had emigrated from Bavaria in 1840, and Theresa (Hutzler) Bamberger, who was heir to a large Baltimore department store. Carry moved with her brother Louis to Philadelphia in 1883, and the two of them, with business partners Louis Meyer Frank and Felix Fuld, started the business that became L. Bamberger and Co. The four partners all worked in the store and developed new methods of retail advertising and selling.
Carrie married Louis Frank in 1883, a marriage that lasted until the latter's death in 1910. In 1913, Carrie married their other business partner, Felix Fuld, outliving also his death in 1929. Neither marriage produced children. Louis Bamberger and Carrie Fuld sold L. Bamberger and Co. to R. H. Macy and Co. in June, 1929, fortuitously before the stock market crash.
Subsequently, Carrie Fuld devoted her energies to philanthropy. With her husband, and continuing after his death, she contributed to Jewish charities, including Newark's Beth Israel Hospital, the Jewish Relief Committee, and Hadassah. In 1931, she was elected national director of the National Council of Jewish Women.
Most remembered, however, is the decision in 1929 by Carrie and her brother to seek the advice of Abraham Flexner, and subsequently to support, and endow financially, his vision for what became the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Fuld and Bamberger contributed $5 million in 1930 for its initial endowment, and approximately $18 million in all over time. Carrie was vice-president of the nascent Institute until 1933, and thereafter was a life trustee.
References
- Joan N. Burstyn, Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women, The Women's project of New Jersey (1997), pp. 142–143.
- "Mrs. Fuld, Noted for Gifts, Is Dead", The New York Times, July 19, 1944.
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