Pedagogue, philantropist and merchant
Joseph Wertheimer was born to the Wertheimer family of which the founder, Samson Wertheimer, was a Court Jew during the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. Joseph first aided his father in the family business, and became partner and was turned into a successful merchant.
In his free time Joseph Wertheimer studied pedagogy. In his twenties he was sent abroad to broaden his cultural background. He was interested in pedagogical matters, especially in English kindergartens, which he wanted to adopt for Austria. After his return home he translated a work on kindergarten (1826-1828), and together with a Catholic priest founded the first kindergarten in Vienna (1830). Later he founded many kindergartens in other cities and also established a society for assistance to released criminals.
Joseph Wertheimer was also involved in Jewish pedagogic matters. He founded an organization to teach thousands of Jewish children an useful occupation, established a Jewish kindergarten in 1843, and a foundation to help Jewish orphans in 1860. During the 1870s-1880s, in his different capacities in the community (trustee, president), Joseph Wertheimer played a key role in the struggle for attaining equal social and political rights for the Jews. Already in 1842 he advocated emancipation of the Jews in a book he published anonymously, because writing such works was prohibited at the time. He wrote different books on Jewish issues and was editor of the Jewish Yearbook (1855-1865). In 1868 he was enobled by the Austrian emperor and got the Iron Crown in recognition of his services to Austria.