Simon Klotz was a merchant, insurance executive, French consul, civic leader and three-term member of the Birmingham Board of Aldermen.

Klotz was the son of Henry and Miriam Klotz. He was educated in France and emigrated alone to the United States when he was 14 due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. In 1872, he found his way to Klotzville, Louisiana, living with an uncle and doing odd jobs while learning English.

Klotz moved to Birmingham around 1886 and worked with his wife's brothers,Fernand andSalvador, at the Caheen Dry Goods Store (later Caheen's department store). By 1899, he had opened his own men's furnishings store.

Klotz was recognized for his assistance to fellow French immigrants by being named as honorary French Consul for the district. He was later awarded membership in the Légion d'Honneur during a return visit during the opening years of World War I.

Klotz was elected president of the congregation at Temple Emanu-El in 1900. He was elected to the first of three terms on the Birmingham Board of Aldermen in 1905, taking the Ward 2 seat formerly held by newly-elected Mayor George Ward.

After closing his retail business, Klotz founded the Simon Klotz Insurance Agency in 1908, with offices in the Brown-Marx Building.

Klotz was president of the Young Men's Hebrew Association from 1915 to 1935. In 1919, he launched a $20,000 capital campaign which resulted in completion of a new YMHA Building in 1926. During the Great Depression, he consolidated fund-raising activities under the umbrella of the Birmingham Federation of Jewish Charities. Through that organization, he popularized the idea of saving the money used to cover graves in flowers for use in charity work. His efforts allowed the YMHA to continue providing a range of services, including to Jewish refugees from Germany.

After Klotz retired from business in the late 1930s, he watched with alarm as the Fascist forces overtook his native France.

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Simon Klotz was a merchant, insurance executive, French consul, civic leader and three-term member of the Birmingham Board of Aldermen.

Klotz was the son of Henry and Miriam Klotz. He was educated in France and emigrated alone to the United States when he was 14 due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. In 1872, he found his way to Klotzville, Louisiana, living with an uncle and doing odd jobs while learning English.

Klotz moved to Birmingham around 1886 and worked with his wife's brothers,Fernand andSalvador, at the Caheen Dry Goods Store (later Caheen's department store). By 1899, he had opened his own men's furnishings store.

Klotz was recognized for his assistance to fellow French immigrants by being named as honorary French Consul for the district. He was later awarded membership in the Légion d'Honneur during a return visit during the opening years of World War I.

Klotz was elected president of the congregation at Temple Emanu-El in 1900. He was elected to the first of three terms on the Birmingham Board of Aldermen in 1905, taking the Ward 2 seat formerly held by newly-elected Mayor George Ward.

After closing his retail business, Klotz founded the Simon Klotz Insurance Agency in 1908, with offices in the Brown-Marx Building.

Klotz was president of the Young Men's Hebrew Association from 1915 to 1935. In 1919, he launched a $20,000 capital campaign which resulted in completion of a new YMHA Building in 1926. During the Great Depression, he consolidated fund-raising activities under the umbrella of the Birmingham Federation of Jewish Charities. Through that organization, he popularized the idea of saving the money used to cover graves in flowers for use in charity work. His efforts allowed the YMHA to continue providing a range of services, including to Jewish refugees from Germany.

After Klotz retired from business in the late 1930s, he watched with alarm as the Fascist forces overtook his native France.

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