Mendes Cohen was born to Jewish immigrants in Richmond, VA in 1796; his family moved to Baltimore when he was a child. During the War of 1812, he fought in the Battle of Baltimore, made famous in the American national anthem. He later went into banking with his brothers, and became so successful that he retired at age 33, thereupon deciding to travel the world. Joe Sugarman writes:
Throughout [his travels, Cohen] kept a detailed journal and wrote letters home, telling of his experiences at the coronation of William IV, the funeral of George IV, as well as his somewhat uneasy introduction to [the] newly-elected Pope Gregory XVI: “To degrade myself as an individual . . . and submit to kiss the foot of any man was too revolting to the feelings of any American. I therefore presented myself . . . mentioning my name, Signore Cohen, un Americano . . . and made one of my best French bows, to which he reciprocated.”
Cohen became the first American citizen to receive permission from the Ottomans to visit Palestine, where he recorded the hardships of the Jews of Jerusalem: “The appearance of the synagogues is that of poverty as they are not allowed to build or add to their buildings without paying a large sum to the Turks.”
Read more on Humanities: http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/januaryfebruary/statement/man-his-times