Elwood Becker

Born on July 20, 1853 in Philadelphia, the son of Prussian immigrants Frederick and Hermina Becker,  Elwood Becker, restricted by poor health as a child, did not attend school until age-12, studying in public schools and graduating from Park Avenue Grammar School.  He pursued the real estate business, establishing a successful rental operation (over 600 houses) at an early age.  In the Senate he chaired the Banking Committee and the Committee on Vive and Immorality.  He was a director on the board of Merchants Title and Trust Co., Philadelphia, as well as a member of the Masons.  Becker was a member of the 1890 Republican State Convention, and in 1900, appointed U.S. Port Shipping Commissioner in Philadelphia. He died in Philadelphia of Pneumonia on January 21, 1903.