Lawyer. Educator. A descendent of merchant Simon Gratz railroad builder Edward Gratz he made his own contributions to the civic life of Philadelphia. At thirteen he began studies at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts. He later studied law at Penn and practiced in Philadelphia. At twenty, he was elected a representative in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, serving one term. He worked as a Philadelphia city solicitor for three years, during which time he was admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court. He was a trustee of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Jefferson Medical College, but his greatest civic work lay in his over fifty year tenure as a member of the Board of Education. Among his achievements was turning Philadelphia's Girls' Normal School with its two year curriculum into and institution whose graduates would attend Vassar and Barnard Colleges. The Girls' Normal School survives today as the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Simon Gratz High School in Tioga-Nicetown is named in his honor. He was the husband of Caroline B. Steer.
Lawyer. Educator. A descendent of merchant Simon Gratz railroad builder Edward Gratz he made his own contributions to the civic life of Philadelphia. At thirteen he began studies at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts. He later studied law at Penn and practiced in Philadelphia. At twenty, he was elected a representative in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, serving one term. He worked as a Philadelphia city solicitor for three years, during which time he was admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court. He was a trustee of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Jefferson Medical College, but his greatest civic work lay in his over fifty year tenure as a member of the Board of Education. Among his achievements was turning Philadelphia's Girls' Normal School with its two year curriculum into and institution whose graduates would attend Vassar and Barnard Colleges. The Girls' Normal School survives today as the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Simon Gratz High School in Tioga-Nicetown is named in his honor. He was the husband of Caroline B. Steer.
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