Isidor Straus nasceu o 6 de fevereiro de 1845 em Otterberg, Palatinate, Kingdom of Bavaria [agora Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany]. Foi casado com Rosalie Ida Straus. Morreu o 15 de abril de 1912 em North Atlantic Ocean.
Refused to enter a lifeboat on the "Titanic" when it was sinking, because there were still women on the ship and he wanted them to board first. He prompted his wife Rosalie to enter a lifeboat, but she refused as well, reportedly stating that "I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die together".