Born: September 5, 1874 in Wiesbaden
Died: March 15, 1917 in Mainz

Joseph Baum was the eldest son of the co-owner of the textile company Nassauische Leinenindustrie Joseph Maier Baum, Salomon Baum (1844 - 1899). In 1898, he joined the business, which he later ran together with his younger brother Hermann (1877 - 1923) in the third generation. Joseph Baum, who was a member of the Nassau Lodge and the Wiesbaden Beautification Association, was particularly interested in the social consequences of industrialization on the living conditions of employees and small merchants.

In 1910, he published "Ein soziales Problem des Kaufmannstandes" (A social problem of the merchant class), which was published by the local merchants' association. His idea of founding recreation homes for those working in trade and industry was recognized far beyond the borders of Wiesbaden. In December 1910, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kaufmannserholungsheime was founded and he became its chairman. On the occasion of the inauguration of the Wiesbaden "Kaiser Wilhelm Home" (now the Joseph Baum House) in 1913, he was awarded the title of "Royal Councillor of Commerce", and in the same year Ernst Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, awarded him the Knight's Cross First Class.

Joseph Baum's grave is located in the Jewish cemetery on Platter Straße (Jewish cemeteries). He had two daughters with his wife Alice Haymann (called Liesel, 1876 - 1942): Gertrude Klara (born 1903) and Edith Amalie (born 1907). At the beginning of the 1930s, Alice Baum married Dr. Nathan Nikolaus Hess (died 1939), a medical officer. The family was persecuted by the Nazi regime due to their Jewish origins. The two daughters managed to flee to the USA; however, their mother's attempt to follow them failed as Alice Hess was not granted a visa. In August 1942, she was deported from Wiesbaden to Theresienstadt, where she died in October of the same year.