George Alpert

Background

George Alpert was born on March 24, 1898, in Boston, Massachusetts, to William and Gertrude (Cline) Alpert. He grew up in Boston and graduated from English High School in 1915, one of the city's longstanding public secondary schools.

During the First World War, Alpert served in the United States Navy. His early life combined service in the wartime Navy with legal education and the professional opportunities available in Boston's expanding civic, commercial, and Jewish communal institutions.

Education

Alpert graduated from English High School in Boston in 1915. The school, founded in 1821, was one of the oldest public high schools in the United States and served as an important part of Boston's public educational system during his youth.

He received a Bachelor of Laws degree cum laude from Boston University in 1918 and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1919. Boston University's law school formed part of a major urban university whose professional programs served the legal and commercial life of New England.

In later years Alpert received honorary degrees from Brandeis University, the university he helped establish, in 1953; Bradford-Durfee Technology Institute in 1956; and Yeshiva University in 1959. Brandeis was founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian university under Jewish auspices, Bradford-Durfee represented the technical and industrial education tradition of Fall River, Massachusetts, and Yeshiva University was a major American Jewish institution combining secular higher education with Jewish learning.

Career

Alpert began practicing law in Boston in 1919 and served as assistant district attorney of Suffolk County from 1924 to 1927. In that office he handled criminal prosecutions in the county that included Boston. He later practiced corporate law and became senior partner of Alpert and Alpert from 1947 to 1956.

His legal career brought him into contact with transportation and corporate affairs. He served as general counsel of the Boston Terminal Market Company and became associated with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad before entering its executive leadership. The New Haven was a major northeastern passenger and freight railroad whose financial difficulties reflected the growing competition from automobiles, trucks, and publicly supported highways.

Alpert became president and chief executive of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1956 and chairman in 1957. He directed the railroad during a period of declining passenger traffic, heavy debt, and public debate over subsidies and tax relief for commuter railroads. The company entered reorganization proceedings in 1961, after which Alpert returned to legal and civic work.

Alongside his professional career, Alpert was a prominent fundraiser and institutional organizer. He helped secure support for Brandeis University, became its first board chair, and remained a director until his death. He also held leadership and trustee roles in Jewish communal, educational, medical, and charitable organizations.

Achievements

• Alpert helped found Brandeis University, organized major fundraising for its launch, and served as the university's first board chair.

• As president and chief executive of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, Alpert advocated public assistance and tax relief for a financially distressed northeastern passenger railroad.

• Alpert contributed longstanding leadership to Jewish educational, medical, and philanthropic institutions, including the United Jewish Appeal and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Religion

Alpert was active in Jewish communal and religious institutions, including Temple Ohabei Shalom, the United Jewish Appeal, Associated Jewish Philanthropies, and the Combined Jewish Appeal. His philanthropic work belonged to the American Jewish communal tradition that combined religious identity, educational institution-building, overseas relief, and support for Jewish community services.

He also helped establish Brandeis University, a nonsectarian university founded under Jewish auspices in 1948. His involvement in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and other Jewish educational and charitable organizations reflected the postwar expansion of American Jewish institutions devoted to higher education, medical training, cultural life, and communal welfare.

Views

Alpert's public statements on Brandeis University emphasized American democratic principles and opposition to political extremism. His institutional work also reflected a belief that higher education, medical education, and organized philanthropy could strengthen Jewish communal life while serving students and patients regardless of faith or race.

Membership

Alpert belonged to the American Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar Association, Waltham Bar Association, and National Planning Association. These organizations connected him with professional standards, legal practice, civic planning, and public policy.

His institutional service included trusteeship of Brandeis University and Franklin Hospital, participation in the oversight of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and co-chairmanship of the United Jewish Appeal. He also served as a trustee of Temple Ohabei Shalom and participated in Boston Jewish philanthropic organizations.

• Served as the first chair of the board.

  Brandeis University Board of Trustees , United States

  1946 - 1988

• Trustee.

  Franklin Hospital , United States

• Served on the board of overseers and as an honorary co-chairman in its fundraising efforts.

  Albert Einstein College of Medicine , United States

• Co-chairman.

  United Jewish Appeal , United States

  1946

• Trustee.

  Temple Ohabei Shalom , United States

• Member.

  American Bar Association , United States

• Member.

  Massachusetts Bar Association , United States

• Member.

  Boston Bar Association , United States

• Member.

  Waltham Bar Association , United States

• Member.

  National Planning Association , United States

Personality

Contemporary accounts described Alpert as a quiet, courteous, and persuasive lawyer who used public speaking and fundraising to build support for Brandeis University and other institutions. His public work combined legal advocacy with organizational and philanthropic leadership.

Physical Characteristics: Accounts from the late 1950s described Alpert as silver-haired.

Quotes from others about the person

• A 1961 account of the New Haven Railroad described Alpert as a Boston lawyer who conducted a determined campaign for public assistance and tax relief for the railroad. Brandeis University later recognized him as its first board chair and a central figure in its founding and fundraising.

Connections

Alpert was the son of William Alpert and Gertrude (Cline) Alpert. He married Gertrude R. Levin on January 1, 1922; they had three sons, William, Leonard, and Richard. After Gertrude's death, he remarried, but the later spouse's name is not included here.

His son Richard Alpert later became known as Ram Dass, a writer and spiritual teacher. Alpert's family life was closely connected with his Boston legal career and with the educational and philanthropic institutions he supported.

Father:

William Alpert

Mother:

Gertrude (Cline) Alpert

Wife:

Gertrude R. Levin

Son:

William Alpert

Son:

Leonard Alpert

Son:

Richard Alpert

Later known as Ram Dass, a writer and spiritual teacher.

References

• Brandeis University, Historical Notes: Board of Trustees Documents Alpert's role as a founding trustee and first chair of the Brandeis University Board of Trustees.
• Brandeis Magazine, Imprint Describes Alpert's fundraising for Brandeis University, his role as first board chair, and his association with Gertrude Alpert.
  2020
• Founder and first chairman of Brandeis dies Reports Alpert's death, legal career, presidency of the New Haven Railroad, service as Brandeis's first chair, family, and burial at Adath Jeshurun Cemetery.
  1988
• Railroads: No Haven Describes Alpert's leadership of the New Haven Railroad, its financial crisis, and his campaign for public assistance and tax relief.
  1961