| Harris Weinstock | |
| Birth Date: | September 18, 1854 |
| Birth Place: | London, U.K. |
| Death Date: | 1922 |
| Death Place: | Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Businessman |
| Spouse: | Barbara Felsenthal |
| Children: | 2 sons, 2 daughters |
| Relatives: | David Lubin (half-brother) Simon J. Lubin (half-nephew) |
Harris Weinstock (1854–1922) was an American businessman. He was the co-founder of Lubin and Weinstock in Sacramento, California. As the founding State Market Commissioner, he oversaw regulations and marketing for the citrus, poultry and fishing industries in California. He was a founder of the Commonwealth Club of California.
Harris Weinstock was born to a Jewish family on September 18, 1854, in London, England.[1] [2] [3] He emigrated to the United States at the age of one,[3] settling in New York City, where his father was a businessman.[2] He was educated in New York,[1] and he moved to California in 1869.[2]
With his half-brother David Lubin,[2] he opened a drygoods store in San Francisco, California, in 1872.[1] They subsequently co-founded Lubin and Weinstock, a department store in Sacramento, California, later known as Weinstock's.[3] [4] He was also an investor in the Weinstock, Lubin Real Estate Company; the Weinstock, Nichols Company; and the National Bank of D. O. Mills.[2]
Weinstock served in the National Guard from 1881 to 1895, retiring as Colonel.[2] Meanwhile, he joined the board of trustees of the California State Library in 1887.[2] Seven years later, in 1895, he joined the State Board of Horticulture.[2]
Weinstock became a freeholder of Sacramento in 1891.[2] In 1913, he was appointed to the Commission on Industrial Relations by President Woodrow Wilson.[2] [5] He also served on the executive committee of the National Civic Federation, which attempted to alleviate conflict between employers and labor unions.[2] He was subsequently appointed to the State Industrial Accident Commission.[2]
Weinstock was elected the first President of the Commonwealth Club of California in 1903.[6]
Weinstock drafted the Weinstock Arbitration Bill of 1911, which prohibited strikes and lockouts during the arbitration process.[7]
By 1915, Weinstock was appointed by Governor Hiram Johnson as first director of the State Market Commission of California.[2] [8] As Commissioner, Weinstock imposed regulations on the citrus and poultry industries, ensuring that farmers were paid their fair share and helping the industries with marketing.[8] He also established the State Fish Exchange.[2] He resigned in January 1920.[2]
Weinstock served as the vice president of the Jewish Publication Society.[3] He was also a member of the Jewish Historical Society.[2]
Weinstock married Barbara Felsenthal.[3] They had two sons, Robert Weinstock and Walter Weinstock, and two daughters, Mrs Samuel Frankenheimer of Stockton, California, and Mrs Burton E. Towne of Lodi, California.[2] [3]
Weinstock fell from his horse while riding near Los Altos, California, in 1922.[3] He died of a skull fracture at the nearby hospital in Palo Alto, California, shortly after.[1] [3] By the time of his death, he was worth an estimated US$500,000.[9] [10] His wife inherited his estate.[9]