Biography
Paul Scharrenberg was born in Hamburg, Germany on August 21, 1877. He came to New York as a young boy and went to sea in his early teens. In 1898 he was an able seaman on the American square-rigger New York, which was wrecked off Half Moon Bay, California. After working briefly on coastal ships Scharrenberg went to work in San Francisco for the American Seamen's Union and soon became editor of its Seamen's Journal. He was an active member of the California Federation of Labor from about 1904 and served as Secretary from 1910 to 1936. In addition, he was a member of the Commission of Immigration and Housing from 1913 to 1922, the San Francisco City Planning Commission from 1917 to 1926, and the State Board of Harbor Commissioners from 1927 to 1931. Scharrenberg served as legislative representative for the American Federation of Labor in Washington, D.C. from 1937 to 1943, when he was called back to California by Governor Earl Warren to serve as Director of the California State Department of Industrial Relations. He retired in 1955 and died in 1969.
From the guide to the Paul Scharrenberg Papers, 1893-1960, (The Bancroft Library)
