Julius Rosenwald, a Chicago merchant and philanthropist, was born at the beginning of the Civil War in August 1862 at Springfield, Illinois, and died during the Great Depression in January 1932. In 1889 Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck formed the Sears, Roebuck & Co. Mr. Roebuck retired in 1895 and Mr. Sears searched for another partner; he offered the partnership to Aaron Nussbaum for a sum of $15,000. Mr. Nussbaum borrowed the money from his brother-in-law, Julius Rosenwald. Both Mr. Nussbaum and Mr. Rosenwald were solid businessmen in their own right. Shortly after the partnership between Alvah Roebuck and Aaron Nussbaum was formed, Julius Rosenwald joined the business team of this large mail order business. At the end of the 19th century, the mail order department of the famous Sears, Roebuck & Co. was unorganized, causing the delay in orders being shipped. Mr. Rosenwald devised a plan by which the mail order department was operated more efficiently and economically in a newly built Chicago warehouse on 40 acres; he also initiated the "money back" guarantees and honest advertising of Sears products. Rosenwald became Chairman of the Board of Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 1908, a position he held until his death in 1932. Mr. Rosenwald helped to establish a science museum in Chicago as well as being active in Jewish causes.
After reading Booker T. Washington's autobiography Up From Slavery in 1911, Mr. Rosenwald developed a strong desire to help African-Americans. The following year Rosenwald and Washington began to develop a plan to build schools for African-Americans with the stipulation that Rosenwald would donate money to the schools equal to the amount raised by local community subscriptions. The Julius Rosenwald Fund was established in 19; Rosenwald's philosophy was that education was a way to improve the economic situation of the African-Americans. In order to receive aid from the Rosenwald Fund, prospective builders of schools had to agree on certain construction requirements set forth by the fund. These requirements included unilateral lighting, cross ventilation, sub-flooring, storm sheathing, standard size rooms with adequate storage space, good heating facilities, and sufficient blackboards and desks. However, the Rosenwald Fund did not provide assistance to counties unless tax funds were appropriated for erecting school houses. No school was to be built unless the local people were willing to contribute funds to the project. Donations were required by area supporters to defer portions of school building costs. In this way, county school officials were almost certain to assume their responsibility in furnishing educational facilities for African-American, and more enthusiasm was generated among community members because they played an integral part in developing educational facilities for their children. Today this program would be known as a "matching grant". All funds were to be expended within 25 years of his death; however, all moneys were spent and the Rosenwald Fund ceased to exist by 1948. Mr. Rosenwald contributed toward the building of over 5,000 schools for African-Americans in the South.