Samuel Simeon Fels, youngest son of Lazarus and Susanna Fels, was born in Yanceyville, North Carolina, in 1860. His family moved north to settle in Philadelphia, where in 1876 Samuel joined the soap manufacturing business established that year by his older brother, Joseph. The firm, Fels & Co., was incorporated in 1914, and Samuel became its first president, holding the office until his death in 1950. (The company was sold to Purex Corporation in 1964, itself acquired by the Dial Corporation in the 1980s.  The soap that bears his namesake, Fels-Naptha, is still produced today.) While remaining active in the affairs of Fels & Co., he also became one of Philadelphia's most prominent philanthropists. He took an active interest in, and gave generous support to, civic, scientific, cultural, and educational causes. In 1936 Fels established the Samuel S. Fels Fund, which continues to award funding to local non-profits working in these areas. Fels also helped establish what became known as the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.