Jacob Elias Cohen

Jacob Elias Cohen (April 1, 1862 – June 1, 1927) was an American businessman who served as president and CEO of Cohen Brothers department store in Jacksonville, Florida. He was nicknamed "Wanamaker of the South" after John Wanamaker the proprietor of Wanamaker's department store.

Biography Cohen was born to a Jewish family on April 1, 1862, in Dublin, Ireland, the youngest of eight children of Rae (née Heyman) and Elias Cohen. His family was originally from Germany but soon returned to Berlin and opened a general merchandise store. Under Cohen's tutelage, Cohen Brothers became Florida's largest department store. In 1958, The May Department Stores Company acquired the Cohen Brothers Department Store turning it into the May Cohens chain.

Personal life In 1887, Cohen married Hattie Halle; they had five children: Edna (1888); Halle (1893); Rae (1895); Hazel (1897); and Minna Cohen Seitner (1899).