DOVID Y. (DAVID J.) GALTER

DOVID Y. (DAVID J.) GALTER (October 5, 1890-October 29, 1961)

            He was born in Bialystok, Poland.  He was brought to the United States as a child one year old in 1892.  He was raised in Philadelphia, receiving both a Jewish and a general education.  He studied in Yeshiva Mishkan Israel, the University of Pennsylvania, and later graduated from Gratz College in Philadelphia.  From his earliest youth, he was active in communal Jewish life.  In 1909 he began his journalistic activities in Yiddish and English.  He published articles about literary issues in the Public Ledger (in English) in Philadelphia.  He also contributed to English-language newspaper: Jewish Exponent, American Jewish Chronicle, and other English and other Jewish-English publications.  Over the years 1914-1942, he published in Di yidishe velt (The Jewish world) in Philadelphia, where he served as news editor, wrote editorials, ran the column “Fun tog tsu tog” (From day to day); and in Yidisher zhurnal (Jewish magazine) in Toronto, Canada.  He edited the weekly supplement for children.  He was also the Philadelphia correspondent for ITA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency).  For a time he was editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia.  In 1913 he was one of the editors of the weekly Filadelfyer pres (Philadelphia press).  He wrote under the pen name “A. Higerman.”

Galter and his daughter

Sources: Y. L. Malamut, Idishe gezelshaftn in fildelfye un zeyere firer (The Jewish societies of Philadelphia and their leaders) (Philadelphia, 1943), p. 362; D. Tirkel, “Biblyografye fun der yidisher prese in filadelfye” (Bibliography of the Yiddish press in Philadelphia), Pinkes 1 (1927-1928); Biblyografishe yorbikher (Bibliographic annuals) (Warsaw: YIVO, 1927); M. Friman, Fuftsik yor geshikhte fun yidishn lebn in filadelfye (Fifty years of Jewish life on Philadelphia), vol. 2 (Mid-City Press, 1929), p. 260.