Portrait of Judah Touro

National Jewish Philanthropy

Judah Touro (1775-1854) has been called one of the greatest philanthropists in antebellum America. Touro split his childhood among Newport, Rhode Island, the West Indies, and Boston. In 1801 he abruptly moved to New Orleans. The reasons for his move are unknown, but colonial gossip attributed it to a failed courting attempt. In New Orleans, Touro was a successful merchant, shipper, and socialite. He fought under General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812. It was later in life that he became a philanthropist, giving his money first to many secular causes, and only in his seventies giving large sums to Jewish causes. He supported synagogues in New Orleans, and he helped make possible the nation's first Jewish Hospital, in Cincinnati. In his will, he left large sums of money to additional Jewish organizations including hospitals in Charleston and New York City. He also funded an attempt to find the ten lost tribes, thought to be in China, supported Jews living in Palestine, and helped congregations in eighteen U.S. cities. He was buried with his family in Newport.