The American merchant Isidor Straus (1845-1912) was the owner of the department store R. H. Macy and Company and a U.S. congressman.

Isidor Straus was born on Feb. 6, 1845, in Otterberg, Germany, of a cultivated family. His father, a successful landowner and merchant, suffered political repression and emigrated to America in 1852. After traveling as a merchant in the South, he established a general store in Talbotton, Ga., bringing his wife and four children over in 1854. Isidor was the eldest of this family which was destined for distinction. He took responsibility for family affairs and was the real business head.

Straus was educated in local public schools but was prevented from going to West Point by the Civil War. He first worked in the family store; then a local business group sent him to Europe to buy ships and run the Union blockade, exporting cotton directly. This plan was...