BEHRMAN, MARTIN

BEHRMAN, MARTIN (1864–1926), U.S. public official. Behrman was born in New York City and taken to New Orleans in 1865 by his parents, who died when he was 12. At 19 he became a traveling salesman for a large grocery concern. Turning to politics, Behrman was elected president of the State Board of Assessors, a member of the New Orleans Board of Education (1892–1906), state auditor (1904–05), and mayor of New Orleans in 1904, serving four terms until his defeat in 1920. Behrman was director of the American Bank and Trust Company. He was a leading state Democrat and was chairman of the Louisiana delegation to the national Democratic convention in 1908. Behrman was active in civic and Jewish affairs. He was a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Conventions of 1898 and 1921, and president of the League of American Municipalities (1917–18). (Edward L. Greenstein)