Mendes I. Cohen

Mendes Israel Cohen (1796–1879) was a Jewish American politician, traveler and businessman who lived in Baltimore, Maryland. Early life Cohen was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1796, one of nine children of Israel I. Cohen and Judith Solomon Cohen. The family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1803. As a young man he worked in the family businesses: Cohen's Lottery and Exchange, and Jacob I. Cohen, Jr. and Brothers Banking House. The Cohens' lottery raised money to help finance construction of Baltimore’s Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. In 1821, they and their lottery were the subject of a Supreme Court lawsuit Cohens v. Virginia, asserting the federal government’s right to review and overturn state Supreme Court decisions. Military service In the War of 1812, Cohen and his brothers Philip and Jacob joined a volunteer company charged with defending Baltimore–Nicholson’s Artillery Fencibles--serving under Captain Joseph H. Nicholson. He participated in the Battle of Baltimore. World travel In 1829, Cohen retired from the family business a wealthy man and traveled the world collecting artifacts. He visited England, Russia, Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, and most of the countries in Central and Western Europe. He was said to be the first American to tour the Nile Valley. He was a prolific writer of letters, which often contained his itinerary and appointments. Cohen attended the coronation of William IV in June 1830 and the funeral of King George IV in August 1830. He met Pope Gregory XVI on January 29, 1831. He represented Maryland at the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. He was the first American citizen who received permission from the Ottoman Empire to visit Palestine and he wrote about the hardships of the Jews of Jerusalem.