Bregstone, Philip P. (Philip Pollack), 1866-1934

Chicago lawyer, writer, and public official who was active in Jewish affairs and Zionist causes.

Philip Pollack Bregstone was born on December 31, 1866 in Weiwery, a town across the river from Kaunas, Lithuania, where he received a general education and preliminary legal training. The family name was originally Bregshtein. He emigrated to the United States while still a boy and began his writing career at age 21 when he became a reporter for the first of a number of Chicago newspapers, both English and Yiddish. In 1897 he received a degree from Lake Forest University's Chicago College of Law (the predecessor of the Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago-Kent College of Law) and thereafter practiced as an attorney (practicing with the firm of Bregstone & Schoenbrod), assistant city prosecutor, assistant city attorney, and assistant judge of the Probate Court of Cook County (from 1912-1919). He also served on the faculty of two law schools. Bregstone and his wife, Anne Rosenberg Bregstone, were active in Jewish affairs in Chicago. They were especially active in World War I war bond campaigns, and Mrs. Bregstone inaugurated "tag days" for persons who made monetary contributions. Mr. Bregstone also organized Zionist groups in the Middle West and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to promote the idea of a Palestinian homeland for Jewish peoples. Meanwhile, he wrote many articles about literature and several books - In Shturm von Leben, which was published in Yiddish in 1924; Chicago and Its Jews, which was published in English 1933; and Sins of Youth, which was never published. Bregstone received much recognition during his lifetime for his literary efforts. He died on February 9, 1934 in Chicago.

From the description of Philip P. Bregstone papers, 1889-1951, bulk 1931-1933. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 757176071