Simon Baruch (1840-1921)

Baruch was born in Poland. He was a physician. In 1881 he moved to New York City, where three years later he helped found the Home for Chronic Invalids.
A vindicator of hydrotherapy, Baruch was a major advocate of a public bathing system. In an 1889 edition of the Philadelphia Medical Times and Record, Baruch wrote:

                         "…the erection, in the midst of populous tenement districts, of
                         public baths which, by their accessibility and freedom
                         from expense, would tempt the populace into the practise
                         of bathing as a habit…[would have for its effect] the
                         power for preventing the origin and spread of disease." (5)

Baruch, like most advocates of public baths, believed that the installation of the baths would benefit the spirit of the poor as well as prevent contagious diseases from spreading. He felt that hydrotherapy and improving the overall cleanliness of the city’s poor would mitigate their discomfort. In 1901 Baruch helped open the first public baths in the United States on Rivington Street in New York.

SIMON BARUCH (C)

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