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Hammer's parents were Russian Jews who immigrated to New York to avoid the pogroms. His father, Julius, was a physician and pharmaceutical manufacturer active in the Socialist Labor Party and, later, in the Communist Party. Armand was born in New York in 1898. Family lore holds that Julius named his son for the symbol of the Socialist Labor Party, the arm-andhammer. Following in his father's footsteps, Hammer entered Columbia Medical School in 1915. By the time Armand graduated, Julius Hammer had made millions. His critics found Julius a shady figure, a capitalist active in left-wing causes, a pharmacist whose best-selling concoction was a tincture of ginger that, during Prohibition, had the advantage of being 85 percent alcohol. The government monitored him closely because of his radical activities, a practice they would extend to his son. Julius Hammer was also headed to prison, found guilty of performing an illegal...
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This section contains 175 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) |
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