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JWR VerifiedJWR-2026-000173

First Jewish Member of the United States Cabinet

Record holder

Oscar S. StrausPerson

Record value

17 December 1906

Country represented: United StatesAchievement location: Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., United StatesAchievement date: 17 December 1906Current record

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Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Portrait of U.S. Cabinet member Oscar S. Straus.

Oscar S. Straus, American diplomat and Cabinet member.Bain News Service / Library of CongressWikimedia CommonsPublic domain

Official record definition

The earliest Jewish person to take office as the head of a United States executive department holding Cabinet rank.

Measurement methodology

Chronology of Cabinet service combined with explicit Library of Congress and Jewish historical identification of Straus as the first Jew to hold a Cabinet post.

Record story

On 17 December 1906, Oscar S. Straus entered office as United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor in President Theodore Roosevelt’s Cabinet. The Library of Congress identifies the appointment as the first time a Jew held a Cabinet position in the United States, while official Commerce records place his service from 17 December 1906 through 5 March 1909. The record is defined by the date Straus actually began Cabinet service, not by the earlier announcement of his nomination. His appointment joined a career in law, diplomacy, public administration and international arbitration. It also marked a visible national milestone for Jewish participation in the highest level of the federal executive branch. JWR found no earlier Jewish head of a Cabinet-rank executive department. Archival footage of Straus is retained only as holder context because no direct moving image of the 1906 appointment or oath was located.

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
26 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

Department of Commerce records place Straus in office from 17 December 1906 to 5 March 1909.

Superiority evidence

The Library of Congress Oscar S. Straus Papers explicitly state that his 1906 appointment made him the first Jew to hold a Cabinet post; JTA independently corroborates the same FIRST.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • First Jew in Cabinet — Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • Secretaries of Commerce — U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Oscar Straus archival portrait — Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons
  • Film of Oscar Straus — Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • Oscar S. Straus Papers — Library of Congress

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

  • Oscar S. Straus Papers

    Official recordLibrary of Congress

    What this proves: States that Straus became the first Jew to hold a Cabinet post when appointed Secretary of Commerce and Labor in 1906.

  • Secretaries of Commerce

    Official recordU.S. Department of Commerce

    What this proves: Confirms Oscar S. Straus served as Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 17 December 1906 to 5 March 1909.

  • First Jew in Cabinet

    Independent publicationJewish Telegraphic Agency

    What this proves: Independently identifies Oscar S. Straus as the first Jew appointed to a U.S. Cabinet position.

  • Oscar Straus archival portrait

    Reference databaseLibrary of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

    What this proves: Provides the approved Bain/Library of Congress archival image and public-domain/no-known-restrictions provenance.

  • Film of Oscar Straus

    Reference databaseLibrary of Congress / Wikimedia Commons· 1902

    What this proves: Confirms the identity of the person shown in the archival holder-context footage and its public-domain status.

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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