Childhood and Family Life

 

Although he was popularly known as Rube Goldberg, he was born Reuben Garret Lucius Goldberg in San Francisco, California on the fourth of July in 1883. Both of his parents, Max and Hannah Goldberg, were German Jewish immigrants. Rube was a middle child, having been the second of the four Goldberg children. He had an older brother named Garrett and two younger siblings Walter and Lillian.

 

Young Love for the Arts

The young Rube Goldberg had shown a strong affinity for the arts at a very early age. At four years old, he spent most of his time creating things with his hand and tracing drawings from the book “History of the United States.” His passion for drawing had nearly developed into a fixation by the time he was eight years old. He was tracing illustrations from books and every printed material he could find, including the dailies and even calendars. As a young boy, he would lend a hand in working his friend’s magazine delivery route and take great pleasure in smelling the ink on the pages. In fact, Rube Goldberg was quoted as having said, “The pungent aroma gave me a greater thrill than inhaling the fragrance of the most exquisite perfume." In general, Rube thought of his childhood memories to be happy and not as complicated as the machines he would draw later on.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg

The Goldberg family was an upper-middle class family of Jewish heritage. When he was already in his teens, Rube Goldberg’s mother died, and his father did not take on another wife. Aside from his job as a police and fire commissioner, Rube’s father, Max, was also engaged in real estate, banking, and politics.