The History of The Jewish People Part 2 - 1850-2015

The History of The Jewish People Part 2 - 1850-2015

1850 - 1921 IGNAZ GOLDZIHER (Hungary)

Islamic scholar. He described in detail the various Islamic sects and the history of Islamic oral tradition (hadith). After the Balfour Declaration he was asked by the Zionists to act as a mediator to help bring about an understanding with the Arabs. He refused.

1850 RICHARD WAGNER (1813-1883) (Germany)

Published his first anti-Semitic article Das Judentum in der Musik. The composer attacked the Jews, denying the existence of Jewish cultural creativity. He accused all Jews of being money hungry and condemned them as the "demon causing mankind's downfall" (Untergang). Wagner proposed that they be either assimilated or removed from cultural life. He was a strong supporter of political anti-Semitism. Wagner's daughter married the English/French anti-Semite,Houston Stewart Chamberlain.

1850 September 7, (1 Tishrei 5611 Rosh Hashana) MELEE AT SYNAGOGUE (Albany New York)

While Isaac Mayer Wise was serving as Rabbi of the Beth El Synagogue in Albany New York, he asserted in an address to a reform congregation that he did not believe in the coming of the Messiah nor the resurrection of the dead. Members of the Albany synagogue demanded that he be fired, he refused and forcefully ascended the pulpit. A fistfight broke out which included Wise and the synagogue president. The police had to intervene and close the synagogue. Wise decided to moved to Cincinnati where he founded Congregation Bnai Jeshurum and the first Reform seminary.

1851 Benedetto Musolino (Calabria, Italy)

Musolino (1809–1885), a Christian, wrote "Gerusalemme e il Popolo Ebreo" - "Jerusalem and the Jewish People". His book, which was never published, called for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine forty –five years before Herzl. Hebrew was to be its national language. He was active in "The Sons of New Italy" movement, and was elected in 1848 to the new parliament of the Kingdom of Naples.

1851 - 1933 FELIX ADLER (Germany - USA)

Educator and social reformer. Adler began his career at Temple Emanuel in New York, but soon decided to reject all forms of traditional Judaism. He served for a while as a professor at Cornell and in 1876 founded the Society for Ethical Culture which was non-sectarian and believed in the philosophy of ethical humanism. Adler became chairperson of the National Child Labor Committee and helped liberalize legislation regarding maternal and child welfare, labor relations, and civic reform.

1851 May 20, - 1929 EMILE BERLINER (Germany-USA)

Inventor and Zionist. He wrote convincingly on the compatibility between Orthodox Judaism and the world of science. He invented the "loose contact telephone transmitter", which was purchased by Bell. Berlinger established the largest telephone company in Europe. He also invented the microphone and the disc record, based on Edison's cylinder inversion.

1851 October 6, (10 Tishrei 5612 Yom Kippur) SAN DIEGO (USA) 

The first recorded Jewish religious observance in Southern California was held at the home of Lewis Abraham Franklin.

1852 - 1915 ISAAC LEIBUSH PERETZ (Poland)

A distinguished figure in both Hebrew and Yiddish literature. His writings are generally considered to lean toward Romanticism. In 1887, after ten years of silence he switched from Hebrew to Yiddish, writing poetry and editing journals. Peretz became a socialist criticizing both Hebrew and Zionism, which he referred to as "Diaspora nationalism". Many of his stories relate to Hassidic tales.

1852 PRAGUE (Bohemia)

The ghetto was officially abolished.

1852 - 1870 REIGN OF NAPOLEON III OF FRANCE

Charles Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, was a tyrant who also tried to grant liberal reforms. Though elected to the presidency, he also established himself as a dictator. During the Mortara Case (1858), he joined the protest against the actions of the Church.

1852 - 1931 ALBERT ABRAHAM MICHELSON ( Poland - USA)

Physicist known for his work on measuring the speed of light. His theories provided Einstein with the basis for developing his Theory of Relativity.. Michelson was the first (along with Francis G. Pease) to measure the diameter of a star other than the Sun (Betelgeuse). In 1869 he received a special appointment to the naval academy in Annapolis by President U. S. Grant. He received a Nobel Prize in physics in 1907 being the first American to win that prize. His books include The Velocity of Light and Studies in Optics.

1852 January 16, MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL (New York, USA) 

The first Jewish Hospital in the United States (originally known as "Jews Hospital of New York") was founded by a group of mostly German Jewish immigrants. One of its founders was Samson Simson, one of the first Jewish lawyers in New York City who had studied under Aaron Burr. That same year, he also helped found the Beth Hamedrash Hagodal. Other contributors included Samuel Myer Isaacs, who helped found Maimonides College in Philadelphia, and Adolphus Simeon Solomons, who in 1881 helped Clara Barton found the Red Cross.

1852 February 21, POPE PIUS IX (1792 – 1878)

Protested the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II’s, decision allow them to live outside the ghetto. In his objection he wrote "Otherwise, it will open the door to requests for other civil rights for Jews and for other non-Catholics."

1852 June 4, BETH HAMEDRASH HAGADOL (New York, USA)

A congregation for Russian Jews was formed with the help of former German Jewish immigrants. This traditional congregation opened a school and soon became the center of Orthodoxy in the U.S. Abraham Joseph Ash, an halachic authority, was elected as its rabbi in 1860 and held the position until his death in 1888. So as not to be dependent on a community salary, he also tried his hand in business without much success.

1853 ABRAHAM SCHREINER (Galicia)

A merchant who discovered the uses of petroleum. He built a distillery which caught fire, leaving him impoverished. He ended up selling liquor to peasants.

1853 - 1927 MARCUS SAMUEL BEARSTEAD (England)

Viscount, Lord Mayor of London, and philanthropist. He imported ornamental shells and later founded an oil company which he named "Shell".

1853 - 1918 (21 Av 5678) HAYYIM SOLOVEICHIK (Rav Chayim Brisker) (Russia)

Rabbi of Brest-Litvosk. He served as head of the Volozhin Yeshiva and was author of Reb Chayim Al Harambam on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah. A great scholar and brilliant talmudist, he evolved new trends in analytical talmudic study. As its undisputed leader, R. Hayyim spent much of his time organizing and helping the community. After the 1895 fire he did much to help rebuild the town. Though stringent in his personal observance, he was often lenient in his decisions for others.

1853 KEREM AVRAHAM ("Abraham's Vineyard")

Was purchased by James Finn (1806-1872) the British council in Jerusalem . Its purpose was to train Jews in agriculture and other trades so as to become financial independent of the Halukah system. Today it is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, near Geulah.

1853 - 1932 MOSES ALEXANDER (USA) 

The first Jewish Governor of an American State, Alexander was born in Germany, began his political career as the mayor of Chillicothe Missouri, and then became mayor of Boise, Idaho before becoming governor. He was active in the Jewish community and helped found the first synagogue in Idaho. The town of Alexander, Idaho is named after him.

1853 February 10, - 1933 VICTOR MORDECHAI GOLDSCHMIDT, (Germany-Austria) 

German mineralogist. Goldschmidt made important studies of crystallography. His books The index of Crystal Forms and the Atlas of Crystal Forms are considered classics of mineralogy.

1853 May 2, CONSITUTION IN ARGENTINA

Called for religious freedom for all Argentineans. The constitution still provided government support for Catholic institutions and stipulated that the president and his deputy must be Roman Catholic.

1854 - 1944 EMANUEL LOEW (Hungary)

Naturalist and botanist. His four volume work "Flora of the Jews" names and examines the nature of plant life in the Bible and the place of plant life in Jewish law and legend. He listed 117 names of plants in the Bible and 320 in talmudic literature.

1854 M. DAVIDSON (Germany)

Built and drove the first electric automobile.

1854 - 1917 PAUL EHRLICH (Germany)

First expounded the theory of immunity which led to the development of serums. Ehrlich enabled people to study blood cells by injecting dyes. He won the Nobel Prize (1908) for his development of the "606" treatment for syphilis. Ehrlich was also a noted Zionist.

1854 MOTZA

A Jewish farm was purchased from the nearby Arab village of Qalunya by Shaul Yehuda an Iraqi Jew, with the help of the British council James Finn. A number of Jewish families joined him and an inn was set up by Yehoshua Yellin(1843-1924). Herzl planted a tree there in 1898, but it was cut down by the Turks during WWI for firewood.

1854 March 28, CRIMEAN WAR

Britain and France joined the Ottoman empire in the war against Russia. Although the immediate cause were the rights of the Greek orthodox church in the holy land, The real reason was the expansion of Russia at the expense of the weakened Ottoman empire. Jews fought on all sides, especially the Russian side. The outbreak of war led to the cessation of any transfer of funds to Eretz Israel, which in turn resulted in great hardships. One outcome of the war was the expansion of counselor offices and the renewed interest in the area.

1855 - 1927 HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBERLAIN (England)

Son-in-law of Richard Wagner, the composer and anti-Semite. He was a proponent of the superiority of the Teutonic race. Chamberlain was the author of "Foundation of the Nineteenth Century" which Julius Streicher, the Nazi founder of Der Stuermer, called "the greatest book since the gospel".

1855 DAVID EINHORN (USA) 

Arrived in Baltimore. A noted German reformist, he was more radical thanStephen Wise. Due to his anti-slavery views he was forced to flee during the Civil War. He was appointed rabbi in New York at Congregation Adath Jeshurun.

1855 - 1881 REIGN OF CZAR ALEXANDER II OF RUSSIA 

Alexander became Czar after his father's death during the Crimean war. Although by no means a liberal, the disaster of the war and comparisons with the West prompted him to make certain changes which included revoking serfdom, establishing local councils (Zemstovs) and reforming the legal system in 1864). Alexander's rise to the throne gave hope to the Jewish population after the harsh policies of Nicholas I. Although he refused to do away with the Pale, he did abolish the forced abduction of Jews into the army and allowed Jewish merchants (for the first time) to temporarily live in Moscow.

1856 - 1929 LOUIS MARSHALL (USA)

Constitutional lawyer and Jewish leader. He defended Jewish and minority rights and, although he was not a Zionist, he supported the Balfour Declaration.

1856 - 1922 AARON DAVID (A.D.) GORDON (Russia-Eretz Israel) 

A Hebrew writer and philosopher of the "religion of labor", he was considered to be the ideological pillar of the kibbutz movement. Born in 1856 in Russia, he only came to Eretz Israel at the age of 48. Neither his age or health impeded his drive to work in agriculture. He helped found Kibbutz Degania in 1909. Gordon's philosophy included a call for a return to nature. He believed that the self-improvement of each individual rather than external changes (i.e. Marxism) were the means to change Jewish destiny.

1856 - 1914 DAVID WOLFFSOHN (Lithuania-Germany)

Second president of the World Zionist Organization. He met Herzl in 1896 and formed a symbiotic relationship. He is credited with providing the business aspect to the Zionist movement. He is also recognized by some with the suggestion to use a blue and white talit (prayer shawl) for a flag and the Skekelas a membership fee.

1856 JERUSALEM (Eretz Israel) 

Population consisted of 4,000 Sephardim (Orientals) and 1,700 Ashkenazim (Europeans).

1856 - 1941 LOUIS BRANDEIS (USA) 

Liberal jurist and lawyer, he was known as "the people's attorney". He opposed monopolies and fought for higher wages and freedom of speech. In 1916 Woodrow Wilson nominated him to the position of Supreme Court Justice. Brandeis was an ardent Zionist, and in 1939 he resigned to devote himself to theZionist cause. Although he disagreed with Weizmann regarding what he considered to be the economic and organizational inefficiency of the World Zionist Organization, he continued to be involved with the establishment of the Palestine Economic Corporation and the Palestine Endowment Fund. Brandeis fought the Peel Partition Plan of 1937, maintaining that the Jews had a right to all of Mandated Palestine. Kibbutz Ein Hashofet was named in his honor.

1856 March, COMMITTEE FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE JEWS (Russia)

Was appointed by the Czar Alexander II to seek ways to help "fuse" the Jews into Russian society and separate them from the "historical solidarity" of the Jews among themselves.

1856 May 6, - 1939 SIGMUND FREUD, 'Father of Psychoanalysis' (Vienna, Austria) 

Developed revolutionary techniques of psychoanalysis, including the idea that dreams represented the disguised fulfillment of subconscious desires. Freud formulated new theories of childhood development (such as the Oedipus complex). Though not a practicing Jew (he considered formal religion a neurosis), he encountered anti-Semitism many times and defended his Jewishness with dignity. His many works include The Ego and the Id, The Interpretation of Dreams, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, and Moses and Monotheism (on the foundation and characteristics of Judaism). His students included Jung, Adler, and Frenezi.

1856 June 12, BAN ISSUED AGAINST THE LAEMEL SCHOOL (Jerusalem)

The school had been established a month earlier by Eliza Herz n’ee Laemel and the poet Ludwig August Frankl (1810-1894), making it the first Jewish school in Jerusalem to combine religious and secular study. A ban against any school which would include secular subjects was issued by the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Jerusalem. One of the co-signatories was Rabbi Samuel Salant. Other Rabbis, including Yehiel Michal Pines (1849-1913) and David Friedman of Karlin (1823-1917) as well as members of the Sephardic community, declared the ban invalid, and demanded it be rescinded. In actually, it was reinforced later on by Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin (1818–1898) to include all Ashkenazi Jews anywhere in the land of Israel.

1856 August 5, - 1927 ASHER GINSBERG (Ahad Ha'am - "one of the people") (Russia-Eretz Israel) 

Essayist, philosopher, and founder of Cultural Zionism as opposed to HerzlianZionism (which advocated diplomacy and mass immigration). He viewed Eretz Israel as a "spiritual center" to be slowly built through cultural and historical devotion rather than settlement activity. He was editor of the Hebrew periodicalHasheloach until 1903.

1856 November 10, LONDON (England)

Jews College was opened by Rabbi Nathan M. Adler. Its main goals were to offer courses and training in both Jewish and secular subjects as well as to establish a Jewish secondary school. The secondary school only lasted about 20 years.

1857 - 1894 HENRICH HERTZ (Germany)

Pioneer in the science of electricity, demonstrating the presence of electro-magnetic waves of slow frequency. They are popularly known today by his name, "Hertz Waves".

1857 - 1893 JULIUS POPPER (Romania-Argentina)

Explorer. Popper succeeded in finding gold on the Island of Tierra del Fuego and established himself there as a representative of a mining company. To protect himself against poachers he brought in armed men. After a number of "battles" he became the "Sovereign" of the Island, printing money and even stamps. As the mines began to produce less money he returned to Argentina where he lived as a popular literary figure. He died under uncertain circumstances.

1857 September, TUNISIA

Under a direct threat from Napoleon III's troops, Muhammad al-Sadiq-Bey (1857-82) proclaimed the Pacte Fondamental which gave equal rights to Jews. It was enforced following the execution of a Jew, Batto Sfez, for allegedly blaspheming Islam. By 1864 the new constitution was abolished by the Bey due to pressure from the population.

1857 September 15, JAMES FINN (Eretz Israel) 

The second British Consul in Jerusalem, wrote to the Foreign Secretary the Earl of Clarendon offering a plan to settle Jews in agriculture in Eretz Israel to help the land prosper. He proposed "to persuade Jews in a large body to settle here as agriculturalists on the soil ... in partnership with the Arab peasantry”.

1858 - 1935 ANDRE-GUSTAV CITROEN (France)

"The Henry Ford of France". After taking over the Mors automobile plant in 1908, he became one of the largest producers of cars.

1858 BARON JULIUS REUTER (Germany-England)

Inaugurated the first news service agency to furnish European papers with political and general news (England). He started it in Germany (1849) using pigeons.

1858 - 1917 EMILE DURKHEIM (France)

A descendant of a French rabbinical family, he became a noted sociologist. He explored suicide, religion, the conscience, and "anonymity" by using scientific research methods.

1858 - 1925 MORDECAI SPECTOR (Russia-America)

Yiddish satirist and contributor to Sholem Aleichem's "Folksblatt". After moving to America he became a frequent contributor to the American Yiddish press.

1858 MOSCOW (Russia)

The Jewish population of the entire Moscow district consisted of only 340 men and 104 women. Most of the men were former Cantonists, forcibly conscripted for 25 years (see 1827).

1858 - 1942 HANNAH SOLOMON (USA)

Civic leader and founder of the National Council of Jewish Women (1893) Solomon was elected as the Council's first president and served until 1905. Together with and Susan B. Anthony she represented the Council of Women of the United States at a convention of the International Council of Women in Berlin in 1904. In an effort to help new immigrants she organized the Bureau of Personal Service in Chicago.

1858 January 7, - 1922 ELIEZER BEN YEHUDA PERELMAN (Lithuania-Eretz Israel) 

Hebrew essayist and compiler of the first modern Hebrew dictionary. He is credited with transforming Hebrew into a modern language. To this end he established the Vaad Halashon (Language Council) for the purpose of coining new words. He began work on a dictionary of which the last two volumes were later completed by Moshe Zvi Segal.

1858 March 12, - 1935 ADOLPH OCHS (USA)

Newspaper publisher. Ochs began working with newspapers at the age of 11. After his success with the Chattanooga Times, he went on to buy the New York Times, which had been losing money, making it one of the major newspapers in the United States. Ochs fought against yellow journalism believing that editorials should be unbiased and advertisements not be deceptive.

1858 June 23, MORTARA CASE (Bologna, Italy) 

Edgardo Mortara, a seven year old Jewish boy, was kidnapped by the Roman Catholic Church on the pretext that a servant girl claimed that she had baptized him. The Pope, Pious IX, refused to surrender him despite much protest. The combination of the Damascus Affair and this affair led to the unification of many Jews, and later to the establishment of the Alliance Israelite Universelle.

1858 July 26, SIR LIONEL NATHAN ROTHSCHILD (England) 

For eleven years after his election to the House of Commons, Baron Rothschild had been unable to take his seat owing to the disagreements between the houses regarding the Oath's law. A compromise motion was finally reached whereby each house of Parliament was permitted to determine its own type of oath, thus allowing him to take his seat for the City of London.

1859 - 1941 HENRI BERGSON (France)

Mystic philosopher. He disavowed platonic doctrine and championed intuition rather than strict rationalization, as well as the optimistic place of man in nature. His greatest works are "Creative Evolution", "Time and Free Will, and Two Sources of Morality and Religion. He won the Nobel Prize in 1928.

1859 JOSEPH MICHAELSEN (Denmark)

Devised the International Postal Service Union, to overcome the confusion of the international mail system.

1859 - 1938 SAMUEL ALEXANDER (Australia-England)

Born in Australia, he proved himself a brilliant student and became the first Jew to be awarded a fellowship to Oxford, England. His was considered one of the greatest philosophical minds of the twentieth century. Alexander's most important work is entitled Space, Time and Deity.

1859 GARIBALDI (Italy)

126 Jews joined Garibaldi's volunteers ("Red Shirts") in helping to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for the Kingdom of Italy. At this time, there were less than 30,000 Jews in all of Italy.

1859 - 1936 NAHUM SOKOLOW (Poland-England) 

Articulate and versatile essayist and publicist. During the 1930s he headed theJewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization. He was also editor ofHatsefirah and published a history of Zionism, which mainly dealt with the period from 1917-1920. His Hebrew translation of Herzl's Altneuland was entitled Tel Aviv, which subsequently became the name of the first new Jewish city in Eretz Israel. Sokolow collaborated with Weizmann in London to negotiate the Balfour Declaration and its acceptance by Britain's allies.

1859 - 1938 OTTO WARBURG (Germany)

Botanist, and Zionist leader. Warburg was a strong supporter of mass settlement but only with the approval of a charter. His main contribution to the Zionist movement was in practical actions such as buying land and encouraging investment. He also served as the third president of the World Zionist Organization. During the 1920's, he directed the Botany Department of the Hebrew University but died in Germany.

1859 March 2, - 1916 SHOLEM (ALEICHEM) RABINOWITZ (Kiev, Russia) 

Famed Yiddish novelist, he wrote in Russian, Yiddish and Hebrew. The characters he created, such as Tevye the Milkman for example, are vivid and memorable. Stempeyu, his first Yiddish novel, helped establish his credentials as the "Yiddish Mark Twain". Sholem Aleichem wrote happy children's tales as well as romances. His pseudonym was originally used to disguise his writings so that his father would not know who wrote them. His father, one of the Maskilim, praised Hebrew and condemned Yiddish.

1859 April 14, GALATZ (Romania)

Jews were accused of taking blood from a Christian child (for the baking of matzos), though not of killing him. Fifteen "culprits" were arrested. The next day a mob broke into the synagogue. Tney killed some of the worshippers, destroyed some fifty scrolls, and demolished the synagogue. The fifteen were soon released with no convictions, yet the government refused to allow the synagogue to be rebuilt for nearly twenty years.

1860 HAMEILITZ (Russia)

Was published by Alexander Zederbaum. It became the first Hebrew weekly published in Russia.

1860 NEW YORK (USA)

There were 17 active synagogues in the city.

1860 SPANISH-MOROCCAN WAR

Following an attack by the Spaniards, 400 Jews were killed in the city of Tetuan in anti-Jewish riots. During the war many Jews took refuge in Gibraltar.

1860 - 1930 WALDEMAR MORDECAI WOLF HAFFKINE (Russia)

Developer of an anti-cholera and bubonic plague vaccine. He was an Orthodox Jew who supported yeshivot in Eastern Europe with his earnings.

1860 - 1911 GUSTAV MAHLER (Bohemia-Austria-USA) 

Major modern Jewish composer of nine symphonies. His eighth, "Symphony of a Thousand", requires one thousand performers. Mahler was forced to convert to Christianity as a prerequisite to accepting the post of director of the Vienna Court Opera. His most important song cycles are Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen(1884) and Kindertotenlieder (1900-02). During the last 4 years of his life he conducted the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.

1860 - 1925 HUGO PREUSS (Germany) 

Jurist and liberal politician. He was originally denied a professorship because of his Jewish background, but in spite of this he eventually became Minister of the Interior (see 1921) and headed the committee responsible for drafting theWeimar Constitution.

1860 - 1935 RUFUS ISAACS, FIRST MARQUESS OF READING (England)

The grand-nephew of Daniel Mendoza. He achieved unprecedented honor (for a Jew) in England. Starting as a lawyer rather late in life, he was soon renowned for his abilities and was later appointed Lord Chief Judge, as well as Attorney General and Queens Council. Although not active in Jewish affairs, he stated in 1915, "The Jews ought to have a place" and a government of their own."

1860 - 1941 SIMON DUBNOW (Russia) 

The most prominent Jewish historian of recent times. He wrote two separate histories: "History of the Jews" and "History of the Jews of Russia and Poland". He believed that the Jews had a cultural autonomy within other nations, and therefore should all speak Yiddish as a common language. Dubnow also encouraged Sholem Aleichem in his writing. Dubnov was killed in Riga in December 1941, allegedly by a Gestapo officer who had at one time been a student of his.

1860 February 21, URIAH P. LEVY (1792-1862)

Is appointed Commodore of the Eastern Mediterranean fleet. Levy a naval officer, found himself facing many anti-Semitic obstacles in his career, and was eventually forced to turn to a court of inquiry in his argument against the navy. The court ruled in his favor, and he was appointed Commodore in the U.S. Navy, a post which he held until his death. He is also remembered for his fight to abolish capital punishment within the navy.

1860 May, - 1904 THEODORE HERZL (Hungary-Austria-France) 

Founder of political Zionism. Born in Budapest, his education was German with little Jewish influence. He became a correspondent and later editor of the Neue Freie Presse in Vienna. For a while he toyed with the idea of converting and felt that mass conversion might solve the problem of anti-Semitism. He was in Paris during the Dreyfus trial, which inspired his idea of a Jewish national homeland. He had never read Hess or Pinsker, but developed the idea of Zionism entirely on his own. Herzl wrote "The Jewish State" in three weeks and then launched his Zionist program. He served as the physical and spiritual head of the World Zionist Organization until his death soon after the Uganda scheme failed to win support. During his life, he met with as many heads of state as possible in order to win support for a national homeland.

1860 May 17, ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE (Kol Yisrael Haverim) (France) 

Was launched by a group of French Jews under the direction of Adolphe Cremieux. It was designed to defend Jewish rights and to establish modern Jewish educational facilities throughout the world. The Alliance is considered to be the first modern Jewish organization. It became the prototype of other organizations of its kind. The catalyst for its creation was the Damascus Affair in 1840, the Mortara Case in 1858, and the growing need to protect Jews on an international basis. The Franco-Prussian War diminished its universality and separate organizations were formed in Germany and England.

1860 November 3, JERUSALEM (Eretz Israel) 

The first neighborhood outside the old city wall was dedicated. The site was purchased by Sir Moses Montefiore five years earlier and was known asMishkenot Sha'ananim. Although there was initial resistance to leaving the "security" of the Old City walls, it soon led to the establishment of dozens of new neighborhoods.

1860 November 3, MISHKENOT SHA'ANANIM (Jerusalem, Eretz Israel) 

The first neighborhood outside the Old City's walls was dedicated. The site was purchased by Sir Moses Montefiore, five years earlier, with $60,000 from the estate of Judah Touro which was left for Montefiore to use at his discretion. Although there was initial resistance to leaving the "security" of the Old City's walls, it soon led to the establishment of dozens of new neighborhoods.

1860 December 21, - 1945 HENRIETTA SZOLD (USA) 

Founder of Hadassah (the American Women's Zionist Organization), which was named after the Hebrew name of Queen Esther. She served as its president until 1926. In 1893 she worked as the secretary of the Jewish Publication Society and translated a number of publications. She was a devoted Zionist and a member of the Zionist Executive.

1861 A HEBREW PERIODICAL CALLED "TEBUNAH"

Was started by Israel Lipkin Salanter. It dealt with rabbinical law and religious problems.

1861 ADOLPH FRANK (Germany)

Discovered the use of potash and created the potash industry.

1861 DOV BERISH MEISELS (Warsaw, Poland)

Petitioned and led demonstrations against Russian oppression in Poland. Together with Marcus Jastrow (a Reform leader soon to emigrate to America) and Christian leaders, he organized a mass funeral for those slain by the Russians.

1861 - 1865 AMERICAN CIVIL WAR (USA)

Jews fought heroically on both sides. 10-12,000 Jews fought for the Confederates and 15-20,000 for the Union, including 9 generals, 21 colonels, 40 majors, and 205 captains. The majority, including Isaac Meyer Wise, sided with the North for moral reasons.

1861 March 3, EMANCIPATION ACT (Russia)

In an effort to gain support of the liberals, censorship was eased on newspapers, and controls relaxed in universities. Serfdom was also abolished with about half of them owning some land. Ironically this worked to the detriment of the Jews. The serfs, now producers, began to see the Jewish merchant middlemen as standing in their way to attaining wealth. This would lead to mass participation in the pogroms of 1881.

1861 May 6, DAVID CAMDEN DE LEON (USA)

David Camden De Leon, known as "the Fighting Doctor", was appointed as the first surgeon general of the Confederate Army.

1861 October 26, JOHANN PHILIP REISS (1834-1874) (Germany) 

Invented and exhibited the telephone at a conference of physicians in Giessen (15 years before Bell). Unfortunately, due to his poor health and a lack of financial resources, he was not able to commercialize on his invention. In Europe he was recognized as the inventor of the telephone.

1862 - 1923 MORRIS ROSENFELD ("Poet of Labor") (USA)

Wrote about life in the sweatshops of New York. He dealt with humanitarianism rather than Socialism. His Lider Buch (Songs from the Ghetto) won wide acclaim.

1862 RABBI ZEVI HIRSH KALISHER (Poland) 

Published an appeal for the establishment of agricultural colonies in Eretz Israel in a pamphlet called Drishat Zion (Seeking Zion).

1862 MOSES HESS (1812-75) (Germany) 

Wrote "Rome and Jerusalem". After his belief in the panacea of socialism waned, he came to the conclusion that anti-Semitism would not be cured by assimilation. Instead, he held that Jews should build their own nation and society in an independent Eretz Israel.

1862 - 1893 FALSE MESSIAHS OF YEMEN

Judah ben Shalom (known as Shukr Kuhayl) claimed he was ordered by Elijah the prophet to be the messiah. He divorced his wife and began traveling around the country urging people to join him. His mission ended abruptly when the imam had him killed. Prior to his death he promised to reappear. Within three years another false messiah married Shukr's wife and even had a child with her. Still a third one followed a few years later and tried to make money from the scheme.

1862 September 18, JACOB FRANKEL (USA) 

Was appointed as the first Jewish chaplain in the U.S. army by Presidential order. Until now the only chaplains in the U.S. Army were Christian.

1862 October 4, EMANCIPATION IN BADEN (Germany)

In spite of the fact that much of Prussia had removed the anti-Jewish disabilities years earlier, Baden had refused, conditioning it on Jewish cession of outward characteristics. On this date they were finally removed unconditionally.

1862 December 17, GENERAL GRANT (USA) 

In issuing his infamous order 11, he ordered all "Jews as a class" expelled from his lines. In New York City 7,000 Jews marched in protest against his decision. Lincoln rescinded Grant's order.

1863 - 1920 S. ANSKY (Solomon Rapoport) (Russia)

Yiddish short story writer, playwright, and folklorist. His fame stems from his play "The Dybbuk". During World War I he helped set up self-defense forces in Kiev.

1863 - 1940 CYRUS ADLER (USA) 

American rabbi, scholar, and educator. Adler succeeded Solomon Schechter as president of the Jewish Theological Seminary and later became president of Dropsie College in Philadelphia. He was one of the founders of the American Jewish Historical society, the United Synagogue of America, and the American Jewish Committee.

1863 - 1940 (5 Av 5700) HAYYIM OZER GRODZENSKI (Poland) 

Appointed Rabbi in Vilna at the age of twenty-four. He spent much of his time trying to alleviate the plight of the poor, the yeshivot, and the constant refugees. An early leader of the Agudas Yisroel Movement, he was embroiled in many controversies over liberalism and the Zionist movement, and always maintained a strictly conservative view. His Responsa Achiezer was published in three volumes and established him as a leading Torah authority.

1863 - 1926 MAXIM VINAVER (Russia)

Jewish leader, lawyer, and spokesman for the Jewish "Block" in the Duma.

1863 - 1941 MENACHEM MENDEL USSISHKIN (Russia-Eretz Israel) 

Zionist leader. He served as Hebrew Secretary at the First Zionist Congress and bitterly opposed the Uganda plan. His views were expressed in a pamphlet, "Our Program", which advocated group settlement based on labour. Ussishkin was President of the Jewsh National Fund for eighteen years, and he was the force behind large land acquisitions in Emek Hefer and in the Jezreel and Bet Shean valleys. He was one of the few Zionist leaders to actually settle in Israel.

1864 - 1948 ABRAHAM MORDECHAI ROTHENBURG (Eretz Israel)

Grandson of Isaac Meir (the founder of the Gur Hassidic dynasty and author ofChiddushai Harim). He was one of the foremost leaders of Polish Jewry and founder of the Agudist religious movement. Though he was not a Zionist, he visited Eretz Israel six times. In 1940 he escaped the Nazis and made his way to Eretz Israel.

1864 - 1867 MEXICO

Backed by French troops Emperor Maximilian, the archduke of Austria, ruled as emperor of Mexico. Many Jews from France, Belgium, and Austria arrived in his wake, helping to establish the modern Jewish community in Mexico. After his execution by republican forces under Benito Juarez, the situation for the Jews in Mexico did not change for the worse.

1864 - 1888 MOROCCO

During this period, 307 Jews were murdered by Moslems without one Moslem being put on trial for this crime.

1864 January 1, - 1946 ALFRED STIEGLITZ (USA)

Master photographer and the first who had his pictures accepted into museums. He did much to help photography achieve the status of an accepted art. He edited the photography magazine, Camera Work. Among his studies were portraits of his artist wife, Georgia O'Keeffe.

1864 February 14, - 1926 ISRAEL ZANGWILL (England) 

Celebrated portrayer of the humorous as well as the tragic side of Jewish life in England. As a member of the World Zionist Organization during the Uganda affair, he led a secessionist group to form the Jewish Territorial Organization (J.T.O.). The group did not oppose but also did not insist on Eretz Israel as a national homeland.

1864 May 16, - 1937 NATHAN BIRNBAUM (Mathias Acher) (Austria) 

Philosopher and early Zionist leader. Although Birnbaum left orthodoxy at a young age, his direction moved into Jewish Nationalism rather than assimilation. He formed Kadimah, a nationalist students organization in 1882 and became one of Herzl's strong supporters. Three years later, he founded and edited the first Jewish nationalist journal in German, Selbstemanzipation, where the term Zionism was first used in a modern sense. He left active Zionist affairs in 1903 over a disagreement on the negation of the Diaspora, and advocated Diaspora nationalism and Yiddish along with Zionism. In the aftermath of WWI he became active in religious organizations becoming the general secretary of Agudat Israel(1919). He wrote numerous articles delineating his religious philosophy of trying to "create the new Jew, based in the Torah, near to nature and to God".

1865 - 1940 CHAIM ZHITLOWSKY (Russia)

Influential Socialist-Nationalist. He was the founder of the Socialist Yiddishist Movement.

1865 - 1941 PAUL HYMAN (Belgium)

Premier of Belgium and the first president of the League of Nations. His father wrote the Belgian National Anthem.

1865 SWEDEN

Removed anti-Jewish disabilities.

1865 - 1935 (3 Elul 5635) ABRAHAM ISAAC KOOK (Eretz Israel) 

Proponent of a religious national philosophy. Rav Kook was appointed the first Chief Rabbi of Israel. He tried to broaden the outlook of the yeshivot to cope with modern ideas and train spiritual leaders. His mystical leanings helped him embrace even the non-religious pioneers and earned him the respect of the entire Zionist world. Rav Kook set up his own yeshiva, which later became known as Mercaz Harav. He was an outspoken critic of the British Mandatory government and a staunch defender of the Revisionist movement during the infamous Arlozoroff affair, once he became convinced of their innocence. His many works in philosophy and halacha include Iggeret Hareaya, Orot Hateshuva, Shabbat Haaretz, Daat Kohen, and Mishpat Kohen.

1865 - 1931 LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR JOHN MONASH (Australia-France)

Highest ranking Australian in World War I. In 1918 he was appointed head of the Australian army in France.

1865 March 13, FREDERICK KNEFLER (1833-1901) (Hungary - USA) 

Army officer. Born in Hungary, Knefler had the distinction of being one of the only people to rise from a private to a general during the course of a war. In 1861 he volunteered for the Union Army and became a captain within one year. Fighting under General Sherman, he was promoted to brevet brigadier general just before the end of the war.

1865 April 14, PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1809-1865) (USA) 

Was assassinated. Lincoln was the first President to deal with national Jewish problems, including the appointment of Jewish Chaplains in the U.S. Army and his involvement with the expulsion order of Ulysses S. Grant. (see 1862)

1866 ALEXANDER CUZA (Romania)

Was overthrown. Cuza had united Romania for the first time in 1859 and tried to prepare for the emancipation of the Jews. He was succeeded by Ion Bratinau who, together with his brothers, ruled until World War I. The 50 years of their reign was a time of government-led pogroms and harassment of Jews.

1866 - 1939 BARUCH DOV LEIBOVITZ (Lithuania)

Dean of the Kamienice Yeshiva. He favored strict talmudic study with only thirty minutes daily devoted to the study of Mussar (ethics).

1866 BASEBALL - PIKE LIPMAN (1845-1893) (USA)

Was hired to play for the Philadelphia Athletics for $20 a month, becoming the first Jewish professional baseball player. That same year he hit 6 home runs in a single game, five of them in a row. In 1870 he joined the Brooklyn Atlantics and played in the famous game of 1870 when they defeated the Cincinnati Red Stockings, which was the first all professional baseball team.

1866 ENGLAND

An act was passed which replaced the oath of admission to Parliament, paving the way for Jews to be admitted to both houses.

1866 GALANTZ (Romania)

City officials started a tug-of-war with Turkey over the Danube. In this case, the Jews were the rope. They were forcibly shipped across the river and told not to return. Turkey refused to accept them and shipped them back. This continued until Romania decided to drown them if they returned. Two people subsequently drowned and Turkey allowed the survivors to remain.

1866 - 1938 LEV SHESTOV (Schwartzman) (Russia)

Philosopher known as the "Nietzche of Russia". He believed that everything revolved around G-d. He influenced many of the 2oth century's intellectuals including Camus, Berdayev, and D.H. Lawrence. Among his works are essays on Chekhov, Tolstoy, Ibsen, and Dostoevsky as well as his books "Athens and Jerusalem" and "Speculation and Relation".

1866 WILLIAM VAN PRAAGH (1845-1907) (Holland- England)

Began pioneering experiments teaching lip-reading to deaf mutes at the Jews' Deaf and Dumb Home in London.

1866 - 1959 ABRAHAM FLEXNER (USA) 

Educator. Flexner, known as an innovative educator, was commissioned by the Carnegie foundation to study the medical schools in North America. Flexner's report had a major impact on the methodology of medical education and its reform. He later directed the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

1866 January 14, SWITZERLAND 

Jewish rights were ratified. Switzerland was the scene of some of the worst massacres during the Black Plague and a hotbed of anti-Jewish edicts. This legislation was only passed after the United States, Britain, and France refused to sign treaties until their anti-Jewish cantons were repealed.

1866 January 15, SWITZERLAND

Jews were finally granted equal rights. It took another seven years for the Constitution to be changed.

1867 - 1922 WALTER RATHENAU (Germany)

German Minister of Reconstruction after World War I and later Foreign Minister. He was assassinated by two members of the fascist Eberhard Brigade who proclaimed: "Only a German shall a German leader be."

1867 December 21, AUSTRIAN AUSGLEICH (Constitution)

The term Ausgleich referred to the compromise between Austria and Hungary allowing for a dual monarchy. As part of the agreement, Hungary had to agree to enact the civil reforms already in place in Austria. These reforms became the Magna Carta for minority races in the Austrian Empire. It included the right to hold office as well as freedom of occupation, settlement, and religion. The original constitution, which was issued in 1610, had been annulled a few years later.

1868 - 1966 1868-1966 ANDRE SPIRE (France)

Poet and Zionist leader. Spire was born into an assimilated family and became a Jewish nationalist as an outcome of the Dreyfus Affair. He even fought a duel with Edouard-Adolphe Drumont, leader of the anti Semitic movement in France. During the Russian pogroms of 1956, he supported the Russo-Jewish self-defense organizations and organized the Association des jeunes Juifs for Jewish immigrants. Spire's main collection, Poemes juifs (1919, 1959), attacked assimilation and called for a Jewish revival.

1868 - 1941 EMANUEL LASKER (Germany-England) 

A mathematician by profession, he was the foremost chess champion of his day. In 1892 he won his first major tournament in London. In 1894 he defeated Wilhelm Steinitz for the championship which he defended against Frank Marshall, David Janowski, and others. He held the championship until 1921 when he was defeated by Capablanca with ten draws and four losses. Lasker wrote two classic books on chess: "Common Sense in Chess" (1896) and "Lasker's Manual of Chess."

1868 - 1943 KARL LANDSTEINER (Austria) 

Physiologist who discovered that there are four types of human blood. He received the Nobel Prize in medicine 1930.

1868 - 1924 NAHMAN SYRKIN (Belarus - USA)

Writer and early leader of Socialist Zionism, he organized the Poale Zion (Zionist Labor Party - 1903). His ideals of socialism was one of morality rather then Marxism. Syrkin was a strong supporter of Herzl's Uganda scheme and temporarily left the Zionist movement. He immigrated to the United States in 1907 and became active in the American Jewish Congress and a member of the Jewish Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. He returned to the Zionist movement heading the Poale Zion until his death.

1868 December 3, SAXONY (Germany) 

One of the last German states to give Jews full legal equality. Jews had been living in Saxony since the 10th century in towns like Magdeburg, Halle, and Erfurt. It was only one year before the inauguration of the North German confederation that they were given equality.

1869 SUEZ CANAL (Egypt)

Was completed and with that completion the Jewish population in Egypt began to grow, especially in Alexandria and Port Said. Most of the new immigrants came from the Near East and the Balkans.

1869 KNIGA KAHALA (THE BOOK OF THE KAHAL) (Russia)

Was published. This anti –Semitic work was written by Jacob Brafmann, a former Jew who converted of Russian Orthodoxy. Brafmann was commissioned by the Holy Synod to foster Christianity among the Jews. He was appointed professor of Hebrew at the Minsk seminar in 1860. In his fictionalized account of the working of the Kahal, he accused the Jews as being “the enemy within”. Despite protests and refutations it was printed with public funds and distributed free to all government offices. In the same vein he also published “Local and Universal Jewish Brotherhoods”. Both of these works found themselves incorporated into what would become the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

1869 June 27, - 1940 EMMA GOLDMAN (Lithuania-USA)

Anarchist leader. Goldman edited the journal Mother Earth which dealt with the injustices of American society. She believed that the state hindered the achievement of personal freedom. Among her causes was was the freedom of birth control. Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated President McKinley, claimed that Goldman had a strong influence on him. Goldman was arrested and eventually deported but found living under the Bolsheviks equally distasteful. Among her works are Anarchism and Other Essays, My Further Disillusionment in Russia, and Living My Life.

1869 July 3, NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION WAS INITIATED (Prussia, Germany)

After the war of 1866 Prussia increased its territory to include Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Saxony, etc. Under the initiative of the Liberal Party, full rights were extended to Jews, including serving in public positions. By April 16, 1871, this became Imperial Law and was extended to the entire empire. Although later reaction revoked most of this freedom, discrimination never returned to the level existing in the Middle Ages - until the rise of Hitler.

1869 October 20, MICHAEL BAKUNIN (1814-1876) (Russia)

In the article published in Le Reveil du Peuple, he attacked the Jews as being a "Nation of Exploiters". Bakunin was a revolutionist anti-Semite and one of the founders of anarchism. In his many articles, he emphasized that Jews controlled most of the commerce and banking in Europe and were the enemies of the proletariat. He viewed Rothschild and Marx as being two sides to the same coin.

1870 SWEDEN

Jews and Catholics were allowed to run for public office, although in order to become a minister one had to be a member of the Swedish state church. This regulation remained in effect until 1951.

1870 - 1940 ALFRED ADLER (Austria) 

Psychologist, originally a member of Freud's group. He formulated his own theories on the individual and inferiority.

1870 - 1938 BENJAMIN CARDOZO - SUPREME COURT JUDGE (New York, USA) 

Cardozo belonged to an old Sephardic family and served as Justice of the New York Supreme Court for many years. A tough liberal by nature, he was appointed to the Supreme Court by conservative Herbert Hoover in 1932. The Cardozo College of Law at Yeshiva University was named after him.

1870 - 1965 BERNARD BARUCH (USA) 

A tough financier, he made a name and fortune for himself on Wall Street. Baruch became friendly with Woodrow Wilson, serving as his advisor. Later he served as an advisor on defense and economy to President Roosevelt. Baruch was also highly regarded by both Truman and Eisenhower and was frequently consulted for his opinions. During Truman's administration he served as liaison to the Jewish community. Baruch was not a Zionist and was against the establishment of a Jewish state.

1870 EDICT OF POPE NICHOLAS III

The forcing of Jews to hear conversion sermons was abolished after almost six hundred years(1278).

1870 - 1953 HILAIRE BELLOC (England) 

Most prolific spokesman for English Catholicism. He generated the idea that Jews were only interested in money.

1870 NAPOLEON III (France) 

Resigned his throne and Adolphe Cremieux, a great defender of individual liberty, helped start a provisional government.

1870 February 15, MIKVEH ISRAEL (Eretz Israel) 

The first Israeli agricultural school was established by Charles Netter, head of the Alliance Israelites Universelle. He was supported by the Anglo-Jewish Association and Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Mikveh Israel later became an important education center for Youth Aliyah.

1870 March 1, DI YIDDSHE ZEITUNG (USA)

Published by J.K. Buchner, it became the first Yiddish weekly published in the United States. The language itself was more of a German-Yiddish and the paper was conservative rather than socialist in direction.

1870 April 14, LONDON (England) 

The United Synagogue was set up by Nathan Adler and Lionel Cahn. It united the Ashkenazic synagogues of London for charity and civic affairs.

1870 July 19, NAPOLEON III (France) 

Declared war on Prussia (Franco-Prussian War). A number of Jews, including Jules Moch and Leopold See, attained high rank in the French army. See later became Secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior. The war also marked the beginning of Rabbis serving as chaplains in the German army. After the War the region of Alsace and part of Lorraine became annexed to Germany. Many Jewish families preferred to emigrate rather than be under German rule.

1870 September 20, ROME (Italy) 

After the defeat of Napoleon, Victor Emanuel seized the Capital, breaking the power of the Papal State. On October 13 the Jews were proclaimed free while the Roman ghetto, one of the oldest and cruelest ghettos in Europe, was torn down and soon abolished. This was the last ghetto system to fall. It had lasted three hundred and fifteen years.

1870 October 24, ALGIERS

Under the leadership of Adolphe Cremieux, France granted Algerian Jews French citizenship. Up to this date they could only be naturalized individually. Approximately 35,000 Jews took advantage of this right.

1870 October 24, CRÉMIEUX DECREE

Minister of Justice Adolphe Crémieux, granted full citizenship for the Jews in French-ruled Algeria.

1870 November 9, HORACE GUENZBURG AND HIS FATHER JOSEPH UZAL (Russia)

Were granted a baronetcy by the archduke of Hesse-Darmstadt. The title was later made hereditary by Czar Alexander II. The Guenzburgs were noted for their financial institutions in Russia which helped develop railroads and mines. The family was instrumental in trying to ease the plight of Jews in the Pale.

1871 AUGUST ROHLING (Austria)

Arch anti-Semite, he published his Talmud Jude in which he claimed Jews were encouraged to cheat and attack Christians. It was often quoted in the ritual murder trial in Tiza-Eszlar (1882). He was the author of other anti-Semitic literature and was largely responsible for the outbreak of blood libels at the end of the century. In 1883 Rohling lost a libel suit against a Viennese Rabbi who accused him of not having the ability to even read the Talmud. Though Rohling was dismissed from his position at the University, his book continued to gain widespread popularity.

1871 SAN DIEGO (California, USA)

Adath Jeshurun, the first synagogue in San Diego, was founded by Louis Rose. It is now called Beth Israel.

1871 KING VICTOR EMANUEL (Italy) 

Disregarded the Pope's objection to the razing of the ghetto.

1871 - 1922 MARCEL PROUST (France) 

French writer. His mother was Jewish but he was raised in the Catholic faith. His most famous work was the seven part A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. Proust persuaded Anatole France to defend Dreyfus.

1871 - 1890 OTTO VON BISMARCK (Germany) 

Served as chancellor of Germany. Although liberal support brought him to power, he joined the reactionaries. He tried to suppress democracy and stood in the way of Jews who opposed him.

1871 March 5, - 1919 ROSA LUXEMBURG (Poland - Germany) 

Marxist revolutionary, socialist leader and economist. During WWI she was the leader of German pacifists and was arrested numerous times. After the war she helped found the Spartakusbund, which later became the Communist Party. During the uprising of 1919, she was arrested together with Karl Liebknecht and shot while being taken to prison.

1871 March 28, (Easter Sunday) FIRST MAJOR ORGANIZED POGROM WITHIN RUSSIA (Odessa)

Organized by local Greek merchants, the Jews were accused of stealing a cross. Thousands of local inhabitants joined in, supported by the police and the local governor.

1871 April 16, NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION (Germany)

Extended the constitution over the entire federation. This ostensibly removed all limitations on civic and citizens rights.

1871 June 11, HATZOFE B'ERETZ CHADASHA (The Observer in the New Land) (USA)

Edited by Henry Berenstein, it became the first Hebrew periodical to be published in the USA.

1871 July, ANGLO-JEWISH ASSOCIATION (England) 

Was established in London. It was based on the principles of the Alliance Israelite Universelle. It was soon imitated in Germany in the form of theLifaverein der Dutchen Juden.

1872 GERSHON "VON" BLEICHROEDER (Germany)

Scion to the banking firm and Bismarck's personal financier. He became the first professing Jew to be raised to the nobility. All of his children converted to Christianity.

1872 NEW YORK (USA)

Discrimination against Jews began in what is now City College of New York.

1872 - 1950 LEON BLUM (France) 

Socialist, author, and critic. An activist in the socialist party, he led a coalition to win in 1936. The Vichy government arrested him in 1940 and he spent the rest of the war in an Austrian prison.

1872 REVOLUTIONARY CIRCLE (Vilna)

Was founded at the Yeshiva of Vilna. One of its organizers was by Aaron Leiberman.(1845-c.1880). They helped smuggle illegal literature into Russia, and served as a link between the Russian revolutionaries and their western supporters. In 1875 with the Russian government about to arrest them, the group broke up and Leiberman fled to London. He founded the newspaper Emet “ Truth” and is considered by some to be the first Jewish socialists.

1872 RUDOLF MOSSE (Germany)

Founded one of the great Berlin Dailies, the Berliner Tagblatt to which many Jews contributed their talents, i.e. Wolff and Bernard.

1872 April 22, BAVARIA (Germany)

Jews were granted civil rights as part of the constitution of the German Reich of 1871, though some of the special "Jewish taxes" were only abolished in 1880.

1872 May 6, SCHOOL FOR JEWISH LEARNING (Berlin, Germany)

A center for the scientific study of Judaism and a liberal rabbinical seminary was established. Also known as the Juedische Hochschule, it was formed by Ludwig Philipsson. He engaged such personalities as Abraham Geiger, David Cassel (history), and Israel Lewy (Talmud critic) as teachers.

1872 November 4, HAYYIM AMZALAK ( Eretz Israel)

Was appointed by British consul Noel Temple Moore, as British vice consul in Jaffa, where he served for 30 years. Amzalak (1828-1916), a businessman and community leader played a crucial role in the first aliyah, intervening with the Ottoman authorities whenever necessary. He was instrumental in the founding of Petach Tikva in 1878.

1873 EUROPEAN MARKET CRASH

Jews became the scapegoat for the over-speculation which occurred after the Franco-Prussian War.

1873 - 1956 LEO BAECK (Germany-England) 

Leading theologian of the Reform movement. He believed in melding modern thought with Jewish ethics. Although the Nazis permitted him to leave in 1938, he chose to remain with his congregation and spent 5 years in Theresienstadt.

1873 - 1961 OTTO LOEWI (Germany-USA) 

Biochemist and pharmacologist. Lowie's discoveries of the chemical messengers in the transmission of nerve impulses earned him the Nobel Prize (1936). Imprisoned by the Nazis in 1938 he managed to get to the USA before the war, where he was appointed Professor of Pharmacology at the College of Medicine of New York University.

1873 January 9, - 1934 CHAYIM NAHMAN BIALIK (Eretz Israel) 

Poet laureate of the Jewish national movement from his debut in 1892 (El Ha-Tsippor - To the Bird) until his death. Bialik wrote both essays and poetry in which he voiced the hopes, joys, and woes of his people. He believed that unfortunately only persecution would move people to accept Zionist aspirations. After the 1903 massacre in Kishinev, Bilalik was asked to visit the site. Afterwards he wrote Beit Ha-hareigah (In the City of Slaughter) where he condemned the cowardice of the local Jews. This served as a catalyst for the organizing of local Jewish defense units. Two of his greatest poems are Metei Midbar (Dead of the Desert) and Megillat Ha'esh (Scroll of Fire). Bialik also translated Don Quixote and William Tell into Hebrew and was president of the Hebrew Language Council.

1873 July 8, UNION OF AMERICAN HEBREW CONGREGATIONS (USA) 

Of the Reform Movement was launched in Cincinnati under the leadership of Dr. Isaac Meyer Wise.

1873 July 12, PERSIA 

Shah Nasr-ed-Din and Adolphe Cremieux met to discuss the problems of oppressive social and economic discrimination against the Jews. The Shah agreed to encourage Jewish schools, and work to improve the Jewish condition. Unfortunately, despite his intentions, the government did little to prevent attacks against the Jewish population or to rescind many of the anti-Jewish regulations.

1874 - 1853 1853 ZVI HIRSH LEHREN ( Holland)

Merchant, community leader, and philanthropist. Lehren was entrusted with overseeing the collection of funds for Eretz Israel raised by various communities known as the Halukah (Chalukah). He was also active in organizing protests during the Damascus trials of 1840. Lehren was traditionally conservative in his approach, and was against the teaching of secular studies in any school in Jerusalem.

1874 - 1926 ERIC WEISS (1874-1926) (USA) 

Better known as Harry Houdini, the master escape artist. Born in an Orthodox home and a rabbinical family, he performed publicly for 43 years. His reputation was greatest when it came to freeing himself from a wide range of chains and locks, even while under water. Houdini spent much of his time decrying and challenging super-naturalists and mediums.

1874 - 1943 GERSHON SIROTA (Ukraine - Poland) 

Hazzan. Born in Podolia, Sirota served as the cantor in the Great Synagogue, ("Tlomackie Shul") in Warsaw. Sirota was considered one of the most accomplished tenors of his day with an outstanding range. Aside from the thousands who used to come hear him in the synagogue, he made numerous concert tours in Europe and the United States. In 1903, he was invited to make 12 records, the earliest of all liturgical music. He was the only one of the greathazzanim not to leave Europe before WWII. He and his family died in the Warsaw ghetto.

1874 - 1951 SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY (Russia) 

Eminent composer and conductor. He organized his own symphony orchestra in Moscow. He left for Paris and finally Boston where he was appointed director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

1874 - 1949 STEPHEN SAMUEL WISE (USA) 

Rabbi, Zionist leader, and champion of liberal causes. Wise, who was ordained at age 19, became a leading advocate for the Zionist cause. Wise served as president of the American Zionist Organization and chairman of the United Palestine Appeal. As one of the founders of the World Jewish Congress he was among the first to warn about the dangers of Nazism. Wise promoted the freedom of Rabbis to deliver sermons of their choice - "free pulpit" - and not be dependent on the approval of the board of trustees. In 1907 he founded the Free Synagogue in New York and later the Jewish Institute of Religion (see 1922).

1874 September 13, - 1951 ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (Austria-USA) 

Composer and developer of the Atonal System, which was badly received at first. His works include Guirrelieder and Five Orchestral Pieces. Though born into an Orthodox family in Vienna, he was influenced by Mahler and converted to Christianity in 1898. In response to the anti-Semitic atmosphere in Germany he returned to Judaism in 1933 in a formal religious ceremony and soon after left for the United States. While in the States, he was active in helping German Jewish refugees. Schoenberg also became a staunch Zionist and, if not for his health, would have taken the position of Director of the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem.

1874 November 27, - 1952 CHAIM WEIZMANN (Belarus-England-Eretz Israel) 

Statesman and scientist. Herzl inspired him, but their many clashes led him to pursue his scientific career with Zionism as a sideline. In 1905 he moved to England where he made many useful contacts. These enabled him to take part in negotiations for the Balfour Declaration. Weizmann later became the head of the World Zionist Organization and was appointed the first president of Israel in 1948. Towards the end of his career he was no longer trusted and was considered to be too pro-British. He was sent on the eve of Independence to negotiate with Truman on the subject of partition. His autobiography is entitledTrial and Error.

1875 SIEGFRIED MARCUS (Germany)

Invented the first benzene driven vehicle.

1875 - 1942 (11 Tamuz 5702) ELCHANAN WASSERMAN (Poland)

Jewish leader and talmudic scholar. An outstanding teacher, Wasserman joined the Kollel of the Chafetz Hayim (see 1838) and was considered his spiritual heir. His Yeshiva at Baranovitch was considered one of the most famous in Eastern Europe. Wasserman was one of the main leaders of Agudat Israel in Europe. A brilliant organizer and instructor, he established a grade system for rabbinical studies. He supported and contributed works to the Mussar movement. He was caught with a number of other rabbis while visiting Kovno by the Nazis and executed. His last words were: "The fire which consumes our bodies...will be that which the people of Israel will arise to a new life. His works include Ikvita D'mashicha, Ohel Torah, and Shiurei Rav Elchanan. He was a frequent contributor to the journal Sharei Tzion.

1875 GEORG CANTOR CANTOR (1845-1918) (Russia-Germany 

Mathematician, published his New Theory of the Meaning of Infinity. In it he postulates his concept of different kinds of infinity. He is known as the creator of set theory ( the collection of objects) in math.

1875 HEBREW UNION COLLEGE (Cincinnati, USA) 

Was opened with the goal of training rabbis to serve in Reform temples. Founded by Isaac Meir Wise, it is the third oldest modern rabbinical college in the world.

1875 - 1937 MAURICE RAVEL (France) 

Considered the greatest composer since Debussy. He wrote operas, ballets, orchestral and chamber music, and piano pieces. His works include the famousBolero and Rapsodie Espagnole.

1875 - 1943 SAUL TCHERNICHOWSKY (Russia-Eretz Israel) 

Hebrew Zionist poet and considered one of the fathers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was noted for his secular humanistic tendencies in modern Jewish nationalism. Tchernichowsky, who studied medicine, served as an army surgeon during World War I and later as a medical inspector of schools in Eretz Israel. He added much to the Hebrew terminology in botany and anatomy. He also edited a dictionary of Hebrew medical terms (1931) Sefer ha-Munnahim L'Refu'ah U'Le-Madda'ei ha-Teva (The Book of Medical and Scientific Terms) and settled in Erez Israel. He was fluent in many languages including Latin and Greek and he translated into Hebrew Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey as well as Sophocles'Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare's Twelfth night and Macbeth.

1876 NEW YORK (USA)

Abraham Goldfaden established the Yiddish theater.

1876 PANAMA

Although there had been minor Jewish immigrations since 1821, it was only in 1876 that the first Jewish congregation, Kol Shearith Israel, was founded.

1876 - 1943 ARTHUR RUPPIN (Eretz Israel) 

Zionist, sociologist and father of modern Jewish demography. He founded what was later known as the Israel Land Development Authority (ILDC) which was dedicated to expanding settlement and agriculture. He also helped design new urban quarters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Kfar Ruppin in the Beit Shean Valley was named after him.

1876 - 1962 BRUNO WALTER (SCHLESINGER) (Germany-USA) 

German conductor, he was forced to leave when the Nazis took power. Walter served as conductor of the New York Philharmonic and was considered one of the greatest interpreters of Mozart and Mahler.

1876 ETHICAL CULTURE MOVEMENT (USA)

Was founded by Felix Adler, a former rabbinical student. Throughout most of his life he kept himself apart from all Jewish interests. He expounded his theories through his writings, i.e. Creed and Deed, An Ethical Philosophy of Life, etc.

1876 GEORGE ELIOT (England) 

Published Daniel Deronda. As a Christian, she envisioned her protagonist finding his Jewishness, which led him to establish a Jewish Eretz Israel. The novel had a profound influence both in England and the United States, portraying a real possibility of Jews returning to a viable homeland.

1876 - 1909 SULTAN ABDUL HAMID II (Ottoman Empire) 

Considered to be a benefactor to Turkish Jews, including Jewish refugees from Romanian persecutions. On the other hand, he disregarded his own constitution and was considered a tyrant when it came to anything which he felt would weaken his authority and rule, which also included Zionism.

1877 - 1959 WANDA LANDOWSKA (Poland-USA)

Internationally renowned harpsichordist and music authority.

1877 JOSEPH SELIGMAN (USA)

Was refused admission to the Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs because he was Jewish. Seligman was a renowned philanthropist and helped the Union cause during the Civil War for which in recognition, President Grant had offered him the post of Secretary of the Treasury. Judge Henry Hilton ruled that it was bad for business to allow Jews to enter the resort. Though the Grand Union Hotel was not the first incident in the USA, it received a great amount of publicity.

1877 - 1948 JUDAH MAGNES (USA-Eretz Israel) 

Rabbi and Jewish leader. Though ordained as a Reform rabbi, Magnes was a traditionalist and became close to Solomon Schechter. He was instrumental in helping establish the American Jewish Committee together with his brother-in-law Louis Marshall. Magnes was a strong Zionist who believed in Jewish defense while accepting the unique role of Zionism as proposed by Ahad Ha'am. In 1922 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and helped establish the Hebrew University where he served as chancellor from 1925-35 and first president (1935-48) until his death.

1877 July 24, HENRY WARD BEECHER (USA) 

A friend of Joseph Seligman's, he preached a sermon against anti-Semitism. Despite this appeal to reason, the policy of social discrimination soon became widespread.

1878 NAPHTALI HERZ IMBER (1856-1909)(Jassy, Romania)

Wrote a poem Tikvatenu ("Our Hope"). That same year Samuel Cohen, set it to the music of a Moldavian-Rumanian folk song, Carul cu Boi ("Cart and Oxen"). By 1905 it had become the unofficial anthem of the Zionist congress. Hatikvahbecame the official anthem at the 18th Zionist Congress in Prague in 1933.

1878 - 1953 (15 Cheshvan 5714) AVRAHAM YESHAYAHU KARELITZ (Chazon Ish) (Vilna, Eretz Israel) 

Talmudist, halachist, and author of more than 40 books. Most of his works deal with the application of Halacha (Jewish Law) to modern life in a Jewish state. Despite the fact that he never held an official position, his influence on Halacha in modern society is well-nigh incalculable. After immigrating to Israel he devoted himself to the establishment of yeshivot, and was also instrumental in the founding of a city dedicated to strict Orthodoxy - Bnei Brak.

1878 - 1967 CLAUDE BLOCH (USA) 

Admiral and commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet(1938-1940. Bloch was a graduate of the Naval Academy and fought in both the Spanish-American War where he was decorated and in the Chinese expedition to suppress the Boxer rebellion. Bloch became a Rear Admiral in 1923 and in 1927 he commanded the battleship California. In 1938 Bloch was made commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet and served as the Commander of the Shore Installation at Pearl Harbor. Bloch retired a year later (he was 64). He continued to serve on the Naval Board until 1946.

1878 - 1960 (14 Nissan 5720) HAYYIM HELLER (Poland-Germany-USA)

Scholar and Rabbinical leader. He established a new type of yeshiva in Berlin which combined traditional studies with Biblical and talmudic research (Bet ha-Midrash ha-Elyon) see 1922. Heller combined vast talmudic knowledge with modern methods of textual research. In 1929 he joined the faculty of the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

1878 - 1942 (21 Av 5712) JANUS KORCZAK (Henryk Goldschmidt) (Poland)

Doctor, educator, and director of the Jewish Orphanage of Warsaw. Korczak was a pioneer in modern education and child care. He instituted a children's court run by children in his orphanage, insisting that children have rights and must be treated with respect. During the war he refused to wear the yellow star or "accept" the Nazi invasion. Despite the offer of his Polish friends to help him flee the ghetto, he refused to leave "his orphans", preferring to share their fate inTreblinka.

1878 February 8, - 1965 MARTIN BUBER (Galicia-Eretz Israel) 

Considered by many to be the most prominent philosopher of the twentieth century. As a child, he lived with his grandfather and came into contact with Hasidism, which was later reflected in his work. Most of his philosophies revolve around the I-It and I-Thou relationships of people to G-d and objects. Buber was also concerned with the "Historic" soul of the Jew. He fled in 1938 from Germany to Eretz Israel where he served as a professor in the Hebrew University. His numerous books cover many aspects of Judaism, philosophy, and existentialism.

1878 March 12, RABBI ELIJAH ABRAHAM ROSENBLIT (San Francisco, USA)

In a letter to the chief rabbi of the ottoman Empire Moses Halevi, he offered to sell the Sultan a miraculous gun ”at the lowest possible price”. The gun (according to Rosenblit) could shoot 3000 rounds per minute could be used to defeat the “evil” Russians. Although it did reach its destination, it is unknown if the sultan ever received the letter. In any case the war had ended with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire before the letter was even written.

1878 March 28, - 1963 HERBERT HENRY LEHMAN (USA) 

Politician, banker, philanthropist. Lehman began his career in the War Department under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was then assistant secretary of the Navy. He won the Distinguished Service Medal in World War I as an advisor to the Secretary of War. He continued with Roosevelt acting as lieutenant governor of New York in 1928, and then as governor for 5 terms starting in 1932. Lehman headed the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), and later served one term as senator. He was active in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and although not a Zionist, supported the establishment of a Jewish state after the Second World War.

1878 June 13, BERLIN CONGRESS (Romania) 

At a summit of European powers discussing the Balkan region, civil rights were "guaranteed" for Romanian Jews. The Romanian populace and government soon ignored this order.

1878 August 8, PETAH TIKVAH (Gate of Hope) (Eretz Israel)

A colony was established in Eretz Israel that was founded by a group of Orthodox Jews who wished to "work the land". It was abandoned in 1881 after Arab attacks and re-established a year later by people of the first Aliyah.

1879 KUTAIS (Georgia)

Jews were accused of murdering a Christian girl for ritual purposes. In this, one of the last ritual murder cases, the defense council tried to prove that local Monks were behind the accusations and presented a social analysis of ritual murder cases.

1879 - 1923 VLADIMIR MEDEM (Russia)

A Russian Bundist. He advocated the treatment of the Jews as a nationality (like the Poles) based on socialism. Though he was baptized in infancy, he returned to Judaism and was one of the founders of the Bund.

1879 WILLIAM MARR (Germany)

First used the term anti-Semitism in his slanderous book The Victories of Judaism over Germanism.

1879 ALBERT NEISSER (Germany) 

Discovered the bacillus of gonorrhea. Although he was baptized, he employed many Jews and encouraged them in their work.

1879 BIRTH OF MODERN ANTI-SEMITISM (Germany)

Adolph Stoecker, a German theologian and anti-Semitic leader, founded the "Christian Social Workers Party" (later known as the CSP). Orginaly designed to fight against Social Democracy, it soon became synonymous with anti- Jewish demagogy. His Christian Socialist Workingmen's Union was a front for boycotting and/or bypassing Jewish businesses in favor of those belonging to the Teutonic race. Thus, a Jew became qualified to be a Jew not by his religion (which left him the option of conversion) but by his race, which not even the baptismal waters could cure. Stoecker can also be "accredited" with making anti-Semitism a national issue.

1879 ETZ HAYYIM CONTROVERSY (Jerusalem)

With the approval of chief Rabbi Samuel Salant. Moses Montefiore made a donation to help school children study Arabic. This aroused the ire of some religious extremists, who backed by the Austrian consul, demanded that the studies cease. The British consul, Noel More (1833-1903) who was well respected, tried to intervene but was unsuccessful. The money was returned.

1879 - 1940 LEON TROTSKY (BRONSTEIN) (Russia) 

Trotsky was the son of a Jewish Odessian farmer. Believing there was no future for the Jewish people as a people, he became a contemporary of Lenin, helping him with his publication of Iskra (Spark). He was exiled and arrested many times before the Revolution. Trotsky played an important role in the Communist government and only after Lenin's death did Stalin expel him from the party. He was exiled in 1928 first to Turkey then Norway and finally to Mexico. Trotsky was assassinated on August 21, 1940 by a friend, presumably on Stalin's orders. Trotzky did not accept the concept of Jewish identity and was violently opposed to Zionism.

1879 - 1933 ROSE PASTOR STOKES (Wieslander) ( Poland-USA)

Socialist writer and co-founder of the Communist Party in the USA. Rose Stokes was active in various strikes including the shirtwaist workers' strike. She was also one of the early leaders of the birth control movement.

1879 March 14, - 1955 ALBERT EINSTEIN (Ulm, Germany-USA) 

Discovered the Theory of Relativity and a theory of photo-effect, which helped pave the way for television. He was a leading anti-war activist during World War I and again after World War II. Together with his rise to fame came his awareness of anti-Semitism, and he emigrated to the United States in 1933 after Hitler's rise to power. Einstein was an outspoken advocate of Zionism and visited Eretz Israel in 1922. His theories helped other physicists to develop the atomic bomb. A pacifist by nature, his comment upon hearing the news of Hiroshima was "Oi Vey." In 1952 he was offered the presidency of Israel as successor toWeizmann, but he declined.

1879 August 17, - 1974 SAMUEL GOLDWYN (Goldfish) (Poland-USA)

Film producer began by working in a glove factory. Forming a filmmaking partnership in 1913 with brother-in-law Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. de Mille, their first venture was The Squaw Man. He eventually formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and produced films which included Porgy and Bess, Guys and Dolls, andThe Best Years Of Our Lives. He was also famous for his fractured use of the English language which became known as Goldwynisms with such gems as "Include me out", "We are dealing with facts and not realities", and I'll give you a definite maybe."

1880 FRENCH CONQUEST OF TUNISIA

Jewish population and position declined.

1880 - 1943 MAX WERTHHEIMER (Germany-USA)

Founder of Gestalt Psychology. Using what he called the Phi phenomenon he believed that the brain "organizes static sensations into an overall apparent movement" (similar to motion pictures). Werthheimer fled Germany in the 1930's and joined the New School for Social Research in New York.

1880 RUSSIA - ORT (Russian initials for Obstchestuo Resemes lenovo Truda)

The Society for the Encouragement of Handicraft was established by Baron Horace de Guenzburg. Its goal was to organize vocational programs for poor Jews throughout the world.

1880 - 1959 ERNEST BLOCH (Switzerland-USA) 

Although Bloch was not formally traditional, his music is suffused with Jewish themes. In Bloch's words: "This it is which I seek to feel within me and to translate in my music - the sacred race - emotion that lies dormant in our souls." His well-known works include the Shelemo, Baal Shem, America (an epic rhapsody) Symphony in C Sharp Minor and Avodat HaKodesh (Sacred Service for the Sabbath).

1880 - 1920 JOSEPH TRUMPELDOR (Odessa,Ukraine-Eretz Israel) 

First Jewish commissioned officer in the Czarist army. He lost his arm while fighting at Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War and became the highest decorated Jewish soldier in Russia. Trumpeldor emigrated to Eretz Israel in 1911 where he met Vladimir Jabotinsky. Together they formed the Zion Mule Corps(the Jewish Legion) in 1917 to fight with the British. He returned to Riga, and with the support of Kerensky, tried to form a Jewish army to fight its way through the Balkans to Eretz Israel. He died while defending Tel Hai, a settlement near the Lebanese border.

1880 - 1961 MANIA (Wilbushewitcz) SHOCHAT (Russia -Israel)

Revolutionary and pioneer. Shochat began her revolutionary activities in Russia and set up a Jewish Workers' Party which had the backing of the czar. After its dissolution in 1903, she joined her brother in Eretz Israel. Mania was instrumental along with her husband, Israel Shochat, in the founding of HaShomer, the Jewish self-defense organization (1909). They settled in Sejera (Ilaniyah), which became the first collective settlement. In her later years she was active as a social worker in helping new immigrants.

1880 - 1957 SHOLOM ASCH (Poland-Israel)

Renowned Hebrew and Yiddish novelist. Most of his books, including Motke Ganef (Motke the Thief), reflect social realism rather than romanticism.

1880 THEODOR MOMMSEN (1817-1903) (Germany) 

Signed a declaration of German notables against anti-Semitism. A German scholar and historian, Mommsen was one of the few German Christian intellectuals to speak out against the new wave of anti-Semitism.

1880 October 5, - 1939 VLADIMIR JABOTINSKY (Odessa,Ukraine-Eretz Israel) 

Founder of the New Zionist Organization (1935), the Haganah (1920), the Jewish Legion (1917), Betar (Brit Trumpeldor) (1923), Revisionist Party (1925), and theIrgun (1937). Until he joined the World Zionist Organization, Jabotinsky was considered by Tolstoy and Pushkin to be one of Russia's most promising writers. He was soon recognized as a distinguished statesman, linguist (he wrote in over seven languages, translating Poe and Dante into Hebrew) and orator par excellence. In 1935 he split with the World Zionist Organization, accusing them of procrastinating and developing defeatist policies. He believed in 90% immigration and 10% politics, as well as the use of Hebrew only as a state language (the Establishment considered him unrealistic). In the 1930's he organized an aviation and navy school in Europe, while at the same time calling for the complete evacuation of Eastern Europe. One of the last of the hundreds of pamphlets he wrote was entitled The Eleventh Hour (1939) and it called for the immediate resettlement of 600,000 Polish Jews. He was branded an alarmist. He died of a heart attack while visiting Camp Betar in Hunter, New York.

1881 - 1897 ALGERIA

There were anti-Jewish riots throughout most of the country after Jews were granted citizenship.

1881 - 1920 NEARLY THREE MILLION JEWS (USA)

Arrived in the United States, mostly from Eastern Europe.

1881 - 1914 RUSSIA

Mass emigration. Each year more then 50,000 Jews left Russia. By the beginning of World War I 2,500,000 Russian Jews had left. Some years the numbers reached well over 100,000.

1881 - 1900 USA

600,000 Jews entered from Russian and Romania.

1881 YEMEN

The first mass emigration to Eretz Israel began.

1881 - 1917 BER BOROCHOV (Ukraine) 

Developed the Poale Zion (Zionist Labor Party). Its ideology was a synthesis between Jewish Nationalism and Marxism. He is best summed up in his own words: "Our ultimate aim is Socialism. Our immediate aim is Zionism. The class struggle is the means to achieve both aims."

1881 - 1961 MAX WEBER (Poland-USA)

A painter, he studied under Rousseau and Matisse. His subjects included landscapes, still lifes, and Jewish scenes.

1881 - 1963 POPE JOHN XXIII 

The first Pope to speak out forcefully on behalf of the Jews. Pope John (1958-1963) followed the controversial Pope Pius XII who during the holocaust had never publicly condemned the murder of the Jews. Pope John was outspoken in his sympathy for those Jews slaughtered by the Nazi's. He composed a "Prayer of Repentance" in which he begged forgiveness for all that the Church had done to the Jews.

1881 SAMUEL GOMPERS (1850-1924) (London-USA) 

A Sephardic Jew, he founded the Federation of Unions, the forerunner of the American Federation of Labor. During the first four years he refused a salary and sold cigars to support his family. He later accepted one hundred dollars a month as a stipend.

1881 February 10, LA CIVILTA CATTOLICA

The official Jesuit publication (founded by Pope Pius IX) published an article justifying pogroms as a natural consequence of the Jews demanding too much liberty. The article was written by Father Giuseppe Oreglia di Santo Stefano, one of the journal's founders.

1881 March 13, ALEXANDER II OF RUSSIA WAS ASSASSINATED 

After numerous attempts by a radical revolutionary organization known asNarodnaya Volya (the Peoples' Will), they succeeded in killing the czar, and with him died his half-hearted liberalism. On the same day of his assassination he had signed an order creating two national elected commissions which would work with the council of state. He was succeeded by his son Alexander III.

1881 March 14, REIGN OF ALEXANDER III (Russia)

Devoted to medievalism, he urged the return to a Russian civilization. Alexander III attacked and persecuted liberals and revolutionaries alike. He did not though revert to reestablishing serfdom or canceling many of the judicial reforms. The most influential person during his reign was Pobestonostov, his financier and procurator of the Holy Synod, who earned the title "the Second Torquemada". The newspapers in Moscow, Kiev, and Odessa began a campaign against the Jews. The outcome of the anti-Jewish pogroms, which were to continue almost unabated until 1905, sparked the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and its environs to the West.

1881 April 25, CHANCELLOR BISMARCK (Germany) 

Accepted an anti-Semitic petition demanding, among other things, a ban on Jewish immigration. The petition bore no less than two hundred and fifty-five thousand signatures.

1881 April 28, (Easter) KHERSON, ELIZABETHGRAD (Russia) 

A tavern dispute on blood libels spawned massive outbreaks against the Jews (in which soldiers often joined) in Kiev (May 12) and Odessa (May 15). In all, over a 223 pogroms occurred in Russia over the next two years. Ignatyev, the Minister of the Interior, insisted that the Jews caused the pogroms. General Drenbien refused to endanger his troops "for a few Jews".

1881 December 25, WARSAW (Poland)

Anti-Jewish riots began in Poland. In Warsaw twelve Jews were killed, many others were wounded, and some women were raped. Two million rubles worth of property was destroyed. All of this led to an increase of emigration to the west.

1882 PROPAGANDA VEREIN (USA)

First Jewish Socialist organization in the United States.

1882 - 1961 ARTUR SCHNEBEL (Austria-USA)

Pianist and modern composer, he came to the United States from Austria in 1938. His interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, and Shubert earned him world renown.

1882 SLOBODKA YESHIVAH (Lithuania-Eretz Israel)

Was founded by one of the leaders of the Mussar movement, R. Nathan Zevi Finkel. Though important in its own right, it expanded greatly after the Yeshiva of Volozhin was closed by the Czar in 1892. The Yeshiva grew to 300 students before the end of the century and to over 500 by 1920. After difficulties with the Lithuanian government in 1924, it opened a branch in Hebron. The Arab massacre in 1929 forced it to move again, this time to Jerusalem where it took the name the Hebron yeshiva. The original yeshiva reopened in Bnei Brak after World War II.

1882 - 1928 ARNOLD ROTHSTEIN "The Brain" (USA) 

Gambler and criminal mastermind known as The Czar of the Underworld, Rothstein began his career as a traveling salesman. He was accredited with being the designer of the synthesis between big business and organized crime. Rothstein had his hands in everything, including allegedly fixing the outcome of the 1919 World Series. He was also the archetype for the underworld boss. His students were a Who's Who of crime, including Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano. Rothstein was killed over a gambling debt, but although he was dying, he refused to name his murderer.

1882 EDMUND MENAHEM EISLER (Slovakia) 

Wrote Ein Zukunftsbild which envisions a Jewish state ruled by a constitutional monarchy and divided into tribes with Hebrew as its national language. He described a modern exodus and predicted a Europe without Jews after anti-Jewish persecution that would be led for the most part by Germany. Eisler wrote his book 17 years before Herzl's The Jewish State.

1882 - 1965 FELIX FRANKFURTER (USA) 

United States Supreme Court judge, Harvard Professor of Law, and founder of the Civil Liberties Union. Frankfurter was known as a liberal and close associate of Brandeis as well as an early supporter of the Zionist movement.He is also remembered for his role in the Sacco and Vanzetti case.

1882 - 1943 (19 Nissan 5703) MENACHEM ZEMBA (Poland)

One of the prewar religious intellectual giants. A Gur Hassid, he published twenty manuscripts. Many others, including a 1,000 page commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud, were lost during the war. Locked in the Warsaw Ghetto, he inspired people to fight back, quoting halachic (lawful) demands to resist the Germans "with unequalled determination and valor for the sake of the sanctification of God".

1882 - 1933 YOSSELE ROSENBLATT (Ukraine-Israel) 

Hazzan. Born into a Hasidic family, he showed early promise as a singer-cantor. He developed into one of the most popular cantor-composers of his era. He is remembered for his operatic works and many of his liturgical compositions are still in use today.

1882 January, COUNT NIKOLAI IGNATYEV (Russia) 

The anti-Semitic minister of the Interior. He was requested by Alexander III to set up local commissions of inquiry into the blame for the recent pogroms. Ignatyev determined that they were caused by "Jewish exploitation." This led to the publishing of the May laws. In his desire to rid himself of the Jewish population, Ignatyev allowed Jews to emigrate. This resulted in massive immigration to the west. Alexander himself commented upon hearing about the pogroms "And I, to admit the truth , am glad when the Jews are being beaten".

1882 January 21, BILU MOVEMENT (Ukraine-Eretz Israel) 

As a result of the pogroms of the previous year, the Russian students at the University of Khrakov formed their own pioneering Zionist group called BILU, forBeit Ya'akov Lekhu Ve-nelkha (House of Jacob Let Us Rise and Go) (Isaiah 2:5). Led by Israel Belkind, it called for active colonialization of Eretz Israel. The BILUaspired to both a political-economic, as well as spiritual-national revival ("de retablir la situation").

1882 March 29, (Easter) BALTA (Ukraine)

During a local pogrom, the Jews succeeded in defending themselves until local police and soldiers disarmed and arrested many of them. During the night around 5,000 peasants arrived in the city. The local priest, Radzionovsky, with the help of some of the militia, held the crowed back for an hour until the arrival of the heads of the army garrison and the district police who directly ordered the soldiers to step aside. Forty Jews were killed, 20 women raped, 170 wounded, and 1,250 dwellings destroyed, leaving fifteen thousand Jews in total poverty.

1882 April 1, TIZA-ESZLAR (Hungary)

A blood libel began when a servant girl went missing. Although not the slightest evidence was found that Jews were even remotely involved, the young son of the janitor of the synagogue was interrogated - whereby he described full details of the "murder." The Jews were then accused of having the girl kidnapped for ritual murder purposes. Fifteen people were brought to trial despite the protests of Lajos Kossuth (non-Jewish leader of the Hungarian Independence Movement) and the fact that the girl's body was found in the river. A year later all of them were acquitted.

1882 April 10, PODALIA (Russia)

A pogrom left 40 dead, 170 wounded, and 1,250 dwellings destroyed. Fifteen thousand Jews were reduced to total poverty.

1882 May 15, ALEXANDER III ISSUED THE MAY LAWS (Russia) 

Based on the "findings" of Count Ignatyev's commissions, the May or "Temporary" Laws were issued. Jews were banished from all rural areas and towns of less than ten thousand people, even within the Pale. Strict quotas were placed on the number of Jews allowed into higher education. As formulated by Konstantin Pobedonostev, the Russian statesman and anti-Semite, they were designed to "cause one-third of the Jews to emigrate, one-third to accept baptism, and one-third to starve". These laws remained in quasi-effect until 1914 and provided the impetus for migration to America as well as expanded interest in the settlement of Eretz Israel.

1882 July 6, FIRST BILU SETTLERS ARRIVED (Eretz Israel) 

The first group of 14 settlers arrived and hired themselves out as agricultural laborers at Mikve Yisrael and Rishon L'Tzion.

1882 July 31, RISHON LEZION - THE FIRST ALIYAH(Eretz Israel) 

Was founded by a group of 10 families. Later that year, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, in response to the Russian pogroms and a plea by Rabbi Samuel Mohilever, agreed to help the new Moshava. The settlement marked the beginning of the first Aliyah (going up) to Eretz Israel, and the beginning of Rothschild's deep involvement with settlement activities.The first Aliyah which lasted until 1904 came in three waves 1882-1884 comprising of Romanian and Russian Jews, 1890-91 from Russia and 1900-1903 from Russia and Eastern Europe. Most of the immigrants came due to harsh persecution and pogroms, economic disasters, the influence of the Hovevei Zion and the fact that there was in place a mass emigration movement throughout eastern Europe - although mostly to the United States. Around 30-40,000 Jews arrived during these periods bringing the Jewish population to 55,000.

1882 September 10, FIRST INTERNATIONAL ANTI-JEWISH CONGRESS (Dresden, Germany) 

Presided over by Adolf Stoecker, founder of the Christian Socialist Party, court chaplin to Kaiser Wilhelm, and a member of the Reichstag for almost 20 years

1882 October 17, LEON PINSKER (Poland) 

Published his Auto-Emancipation as a result of the Russian pogroms of the previous year. Pinsker advocated establishing a homeland as a cure for anti-Semitism. Eretz Israel was not his original suggestion, and only later did he join the fledgling Zionist movement.

1882 December 12, ROSH PINA (Eretz Israel) 

Was founded by 130 Romanian Jews. Ironically they arrived on a ship to Beirut named the Titus.. The settlement was originally founded by residents of Safed in 1878 who had named it Gei Oni ("Valley of My Strength) but was abandoned after less then two years.

1883 - 1944 AARON ABRAHAM KABAK (Russia-Eretz Israel)

An outstanding early Hebrew novelist. Kabak authored many novels and short stories which were very popular. His historical trilogy on Solomon Molcho is considered the first historical novel in Hebrew.

1883 MACHZIKEI TALMUD TORAH (USA)

Was established in New York and in Chicago as a religious day school.

1883 HARTUV (Artuf) ( Eretz- Israel)

Land near the today’s town of Beit Shemesh, was purchased to set up an agricultural settlement by the Jewish Refugees fund”. Headed by Lord Aberdeen its purpose was to provide Russian refugees with work and to eventually convert them - it lasted 3 years. Twelve years later it was bought and settled by Jews from Bulgaria. rnrn

1883 - 1936 LEV KAMENEV (Rosenfeld) (Russia) 

Revolutionary writer and Soviet leader. A colleague of Lenin's, he co-edited revolutionary journals. Prior to the Revolution, Kamenev lead the movement in Tiflis, Georgia, and supposedly introduced Stalin to Lenin. Kamenev married Trotsky's sister, who asked him to edit his Party newspaper Pravda. After Lenin's death, he formed a triumvirate together with Stalin and Zinoviev which forcedTrotsky into exile. Later, realizing Stalin's true direction of becoming a dictator, he began to oppose him. This cost him his power and eventually his life. Kamenev was executed in 1936 after a show trial.

1883 February 4, COUNT K.I. PAHLEN (Russia)

Was commissioned by Alexander III to "Study of the Current Laws Concerning the Jews" . His report, issued on May 24, 1888, recommended by a majority opinion "changing the system of laws and restrictions for a system of graduated laws of freedom and equality". They counted around 650 special laws concerning the Jews." The czar decided to accept the minority report by Count Dimitri Tolstoy, to continue the policy of preventing Jews from leaving certain areas and even instituted a quota for Jews at universities and secondary schools.

1883 July 4, - 1924 FRANZ KAFKA (Germany) 

Author who combined psychological analysis and moral philosophy in his brilliant works, i.e. The Trial, The Castle, and America. His metaphysical thinking was reflected in his belief in the "indestructible" in men who are always "guilty". Kafka became one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He had little contact with Judaism and considered temple services "boring", yet as he grew older he began to take an interest in Zionism tried to learn Hebrew and even considered the idea of emigrating to Eretz Israel. None of Kafka's novels was printed during his lifetime. In spite of his instructions to destroy his manuscripts after his death, his friend Max Brod published them.

1884 BULGARIA

Anti-Jewish riots began and continued until 1904. Many Jews immigrated to Anatolia, Turkey.

1884 HERMAN ARON (1845-1913) (Germany)

Invented the electric meter. While watching his father repair clocks he hit upon the idea of measuring electricity by passing the current through a clock pendulum and noting how fast the hands moved. He also pioneered the wireless telegraph.

1884 LADINO (Bulgaria)

The first Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) newspaper La Alborada (Dawn) was published in Bulgaria

1884 PERSIA

As a result of constant persecutions Jews began to emigrate to Eretz Israel.

1884 HECHLER PUBLISHED “THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS TO PALESTINE.”

William Hechler (1845 -1931) an Anglican minister, had traveled to Eastern Europe two years earlier to investigate anti-Semitism. There he met with Leon Pinsker who introduced him to modern Zionism. In Hechler's pamphlet, he called for the Jews to return to Eretz Israel. Hechler attended the first Zionist congress and formed a strong relationship with Herzl. He made great efforts to encourage close ties between the grand duke of Baden and Herzl and even tried to arrange a meeting between Herzl and the czar. His house was also a museum which included Montefiore's carriage, which he donated to the Eretz Israel museum upon his death.

1884 November 6 - 8, HOVEVEI ZION (HIBBAT ZION)(Lovers of Zion) (Germany) 

Was founded in Kattowitz, Germany (which is now known as Katowice, Poland). Thirty-six delegates met in the first Pre-Herzl Zionist Conference. Rabbi Mohilever was elected president and Leon Pinsker was elected chairman. Under their guidance they tried to secure financial help (from Baron Edmond de Rothschild and others) for the new Jewish settlements to organize educational courses as well as counsel them about religious guidelines. They are considered the forerunner and foundation of the modern Zionist movement. This movement was mostly active in Russia and Romania, but it had branches throughout Europe and even some in the USA. Due in part to their precarious position within Eastern Europe, the Hovevei Zion did not deal with Zionism as a political movement.

1885 RABBI MOSES GASTNER (Romania)

One of the foremost authorities on Romanian literature and folklore, he was exiled to England after he protested Romanian anti-Jewish policies.

1885 NESS TZIONA SOCIETY (Russia)

Was founded at theVolozhin Yeshiva ( Etz Hayyim), with the quiet support ofRabbi Berlin. The society which had 50 members in its first year, was kept secret so as not to upset the czarist government ,and was dedicated to encouraging the rebuilding of the land of Israel. When the Russian police closed it, a new society was formed, Netzach Yisrael (1891). Among the founders was Chayim Nachman Bialik.

1885 - 1940 BERNARD (DOV) REVEL (Lithuania - USA)

Rabbi and educator. Revel began his studies in Europe at the famous Telz Yeshiva. After graduating with a M.A. from NYU and a doctorate from Dropsie College, the first awarded at that school, he decided to move to Oklahoma and work in his father-in-law's oil business. In 1915, he was asked to serve as dean of the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in New York. Revel's dream was to combine secular and tradition education. With this in mind he opened a state-accredited high school, the talmudical Academy (1916), and despite fierce opposition, Yeshiva College (1928) which later became Yeshiva University.

1885 - 1944 GEORGE MANDEL (France)

Politician and journalist, possessed a photographic memory. His mentor was Georges Clemenceau. Mandel was a member of the Chamber of Deputies for 17 years. As early as 1933 he warned of the danger of war with Germany. During the war he was captured by the Germans and murdered by the Vichy.

1885 - 1962 NIELS BOHR (Denmark) 

Physicist and Nobel laureate. Developed the theory on the nature of the atom. During the Nazi occupation, he was rescued and taken to Sweden. The Allies were under pressure to take him to London so that he could work on the atom bomb project. Bohr refused to leave until he had a firm promise from King Gustav of Sweden to give sanctuary to any Danish Jew reaching his shore. Only once the agreement was made public did he agree to leave for London.

1885 January 27, - 1945 JEROME KERN (USA)

Songwriter. One of America's great composers of popular songs, Kern wrote over 1,000 songs for more than 100 shows and films. He won two Academy Awards, one for The Last Time I Saw Paris and the other for The Way You Look Tonight. Other famous songs include Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and from his famous collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein in Show Boat, Ol? Man River.

1885 July 9, SIR NATHANIEL MEYER ROTHSCHILD 

Became the first Jewish peer in England as Lord Rothschild. After a long and bitter fight, he took his seat in the House of Lords. The Christian oath was amended so that non-Christians could also serve in the House of Lords.

1885 July 12, - 1920 AMEDEO MODIGLIANI (Livorno, Italy)

Painter and sculptor. One of the first great Jewish artists with a flair for the human (mainly female) body. Most of his paintings are memorable for their long necks and oval faces and earthy tones.

1885 November 16 - 18, PITTSBURGH PLATFORM (USA) 

A council on Reform Judaism which rejected the Messianic concept and the return to Eretz Israel. The platform took Reform further than the English Reform movement in that it also rejected dietary laws, some Mosaic legislation, and theTalmud. The platform was adopted four years later by the Reform Rabbinical organization, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). Many rabbis resented the extremes to which Reform had gone and formed their own groups (i.e. Sabato Morais, 1823) which led to the creation of the Conservative movement.

1886 JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (USA)

Was founded in New York by Dr. Sabato Morais. The goal of the Jewish Theological Seminary was the training of rabbis and teachers in traditional Judaism. It is generally considered to lean more towards Conservatism than Orthodoxy.

1886 - 1969 (9 Nissan 5729) ARYEH LEVIN ("Father of the Prisoners") (Eretz Israel) 

Known as Reb Aryeh, he was ordained by Rabbis Chaim Berlin and Samuel Salant. He devoted himself to volunteer work at the leper hospital and the prison in Jerusalem, as well as working in a yeshiva. He considered visiting and helping those jailed by the British Mandatory Government his special mission. Reb Aryeh consistently refused all honors, choosing to live in near poverty in the Mishkenot section of Jerusalem.

1886 - 1939 BELA KUN (Hungary) 

A young supporter of Lenin, he eventually became the head of the Hungarian government, forming a Soviet Republic. Kun refused to tolerate any opposition and his harsh line alienated the peasants. He was forced to flee after a series of disasters. Kun was killed by Stalin in 1939. Although totally alienated from Judaism he did appoint other Jews to governmental positions. After his collapse, anti-Jewish riots broke out. Approximately 7,000 were murdered.

1886 EDUARD DRUMONT (France)

Published his notorious anti-Semitic harangue La France Juive in which he attributed all of France's ills to the Jews. His writings helped provoke and maintain the Dreyfus Affair.

1886 - 1937 SIMON DIMANSTEIN (Russia)

Communist leader. Dimanstein received rabbinical ordination by Haim Ozer Grodzenski but became active in the revolutionary movement. After the revolution, he became minister of Labor in Lithuania. He edited Der Emess, an anti-religious, anti-Zionist, and anti-Bundist periodical. He became head of the Institute for National Minorities and was a strong proponent of Jewish settlement in Birobidzhan. His early closeness to Joseph Stalin didn't prevent his execution during the purges of 1937.

1886 February 12, HA-YOM (Russia)

The first Hebrew daily newspaper was published in St. Petersburg, Russia

1886 March 15, YESHIVA ETZ CHAIM (USA)

Was founded in New York. It was the first American yeshiva to include the study of Talmud.

1886 May 26, - 1950 AL JOLSON (Lithuania-USA)

Entertainer. Jolson, born Asa Yoelson the son of a cantor(hazzan), became one of the big stars of vaudeville and an early film star. He loved to work the audience and and after singing for three hours with incredible energy, he could still call out: "You ain't heard nothin' yet." Jolson was successful in Broadway musicals and starred in the first full length talking movie The Jazz Singer in (1927) which reflected his own life. He was also the first entertainer to perform overseas for the USO (United Service Organization). He died soon after returning from performing for the troops in Korea. His two signature songs wereSwanee and My Mammy.

1886 October 16, - 1973 DAVID BEN GURION (Poland-Eretz Israel) 

Came to Eretz Israel as David Green in 1906. He joined the Jewish legion, rose in the ranks of the Zionist Labor Party, and created the Histadrut or Labor Confederation. Ben Gurion formulated the official Zionist policies during the Second World War and became Israel's first Prime Minister. He founded his own party (MAPAI) and joined with the religious parties and the general Zionist party to form a coalition. He served on and off until 1963 as Minister of Defense and Prime Minister. He played an important part in the Israeli victory in 1956. After 1963 he retired to a kibbutz (Sde Boker) in the Negev, which he called on the younger generation to settle.

1886 December 25, - 1929 FRANZ ROSENZWEIG (Germany) 

Born into an assimilated Jewish family, he decided to convert to Christianity by first discovering Judaism. He never converted, but became a practicing Jew and renowned philosopher. His book, Star of Redemption, centered on the part that tradition should play in the life of a Jew and the role of Judaism in the world. Later in life he became paralyzed but continued to dictate his works to his wife. He helped create the Free Jewish House of Study in Frankfurt, and collaborated with Buber on a new translation of the Bible.

1887 NEW RESTRICTIONS (Russia)

Although Jews were forcibly conscripted into the army, they were banned from all military schools. This was soon followed by Jews being prohibited from joining the army medical corps and military bands. At the same time, Jewish communities were severely fined if the quota of Jewish conscripts wasn't reached. In addition, new education restrictions were instituted: no more than ten percent of Jews in the Pale and five percent outside the Pale were allowed to attend University.

1887 - 1959 ZALMAN SHNEOUR (Sklow, Belarus)

Radical Hebrew poet. His verse on the first Russian revolution served as an inspiration for younger generation radicals. In 1913 Shneour accurately predicted in his poetry the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. His poems on the shtetl are some of his most widely published works, and although he also achieved recognition as a Yiddish poet his real fame lies as one of the great modern Hebrew poets.

1887 - 1934 (7 Cheshvan 5695) MEIR SHAPIRO (Poland) 

Rabbi, communal leader, educator and founder of Chachmei (Hakhmei) Lublin Yeshiva, the first with modern facilities. Shapiro was elected to the Polish Sejm in 1923 and served as one of the most forceful defenders of Polish Jewry for two years. He was the innovator of Daf Yomi, the learning of a page of Talmud a day, as a means for encouraging adult education. This method enables one to complete the Talmud in 7.5 years. Though he died at a young age, he left a heritage which remains a unifying factor throughout Orthodox Jewry today.

1887 - 1970 MORRIS COHEN ("Two Gun Cohen") (Canada) 

General, marksman, and gunrunner to the Chinese army. He served in World War I and later, due to his personal friendship with the local Chinese community in Canada, as Sun Yat Sen's personal bodyguard, saving his life a number of times. Chaing Kai-Shek appointed him a general in the Kuomintang Army. He trained the Chinese army against Japan. Cohen was captured by the Japanese and tortured. He was only released after the end of the war. He was one of the few people who tried to reconcile the two Chinese factions (nationalist and communist) and was always welcomed by both governments.

1887 - 1976 RENE SAMUEL CASSIN (France) 

French jurist and Nobel Laureate. Cassin served as a legal advisor to theLeague of Nations and served with General Charles de Gaulle during World War II. With the founding of the United Nations Cassin was the chief architect of the Declaration of Human Rights and served as president of the European court of Human Rights. His work earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. Cassin was also active in helping rebuild the Jewish communities in France and North Africa after the war.

1887 - 1946 SIDNEY HILLMAN (Lithuania - USA)

Although originally trained for the rabbinate, Hillman became active at a very early-stage in the trade union movement (the Bund) in Lithuania. After spending time in jail for illegal activities, he immigrated first to England and then to the United States. There he helped establish the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA). As its president, he was responsible for a 44 hour work week and unemployment insurance. In 1935, he helped establish the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Hillman was a strong Zionist and joined theJewish Agency in 1929. During WWII he was Roosevelt's chief labor advisor.

1887 THEODOR FRITSCH (1852-1933) (Germany) 

Founded the Hammer Publishing House, which specialized in anti-Semitic publications. Fritsch, one of the mentors of the Nazi movement, worked to repeal the emancipation law and later became a member of the Nazi Reichstag.

1887 January 2, JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ASSOCIATION (USA)

The educational and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism. It was opened under the leadership of Sabato Morais. Morais, a rabbi of Congregation Mikve Israel in Philadelphia, sought to train rabbis who would help preserve Jewish traditions which he felt were being eroded by the "reformers" and their Pittsburgh Platform. In 1902, under Solomon Schechter, the Seminary was reorganized and the name changed to JTS.

1887 January 28, - 1982 ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN (Poland-USA) 

One of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Rubinstein performed at an early age with Joseph Joachim in Berlin. In his early years, he was famous for his interpretations of Chopin. After settling in the United States, he toured extensively giving up to 150 concerts a year. Rubinstein had a strong connection with Israel and Judaism; refusing to play in Germany after WWII and supporting Israel at every chance. The Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition was established in Israel in 1974. He played into his eighties and wrote two autobiographies, My Young Years and My Many Years.

1887 June 7, - 1990 MARC CHAGALL (Vitebsk, Russia-France) 

Artist, famous for his folkist fairy-tale cubist paintings of Eastern Europe. He helped establish the Russian Yiddish state theater. Later he went to live in Paris, where he was friendly with Modigliani and Soutine. Chagall designed the stained glass windows of the Hadassah Hospital synagogue in Jerusalem. His works are also displayed at the New York Metropolitan Opera House, the Paris Opera, the United Nations, the Cathedral at Metz, and the Knesset.

1888 - 1969 THEODORE REIK (USA)

Psychoanalyst and disciple of Freud. Reik is credited with spreading the popularity of psychoanalyses in the USA and founded the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. He wrote over 50 books on everything from his psychoanalytic theories in Listening with the Third Ear and Masochism and the Modern man to Pagan Rites in Judaism and Jewish Wit which analyses Jewish Humor.

1888 UNITED HEBREW TRADES (USA)

Established in New York by Morris Helquit as a Jewish union. Its official correspondence was carried out in Yiddish.

1888 - 1959 (19 Tamuz 5719) ISAAC HALEVI HERZOG (Eretz Israel) 

Rabbi Herzog, who also held a doctorate in literature, served as the Chief Rabbi in the Irish Free State. He succeeded Rabbi Kook as Chief Rabbi in Eretz Israel in 1936, a post he held for 22 years. Herzog was respected by all walks of Israeli life. After the Holocaust, he spent 6 months in Europe searching for Jewish children who had been hidden in monasteries. His writings include Divrei Yitzchak on the Talmud, Heichal Yitzchak on responsa and Main Institutions of Jewish Law. His son Chaim became Israel's sixth President.

1888 RABBI JACOB JOSEPH (1840-1902) (Lithuania-USA)

A leading student of Rabbi Israel Salanter, was invited to head the New York Orthodox Jewish Community. He served as the first and only chief Rabbi of New York City. Although he made strong inroads in improving Kashrut (dietary regulation) supervision, he was unsuccessful in instituting one Rabbinical authority to oversee it all.

1888 June 3, JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA (JPS) WAS FOUNDED (USA) 

Its purpose was and is to publish books of Jewish interest in English. Among its hundreds of publications are Graetz's, Dubnow's and Baron's History of the Jews, and Ginsburg's Legends of the Jews. Other important authors includedIsrael Zangwill, Leo Baeck, Cecil Roth, Jacob R. Marcus, and Louis Finkelstein. They have also published the American Jewish Yearbook for nearly 100 years (1899).

1888 July 17, - 1970 SAMUEL JOSEPH AGNON (Galicia-Eretz Israel) 

Famous Hebrew novelist, Nobel Prize winner and writer of short stories. He portrayed Jewish life in Galicia and the yearning for a life in Eretz Israel. In addition to his novels he wrote two works of non-fiction: Yamim Noraim, an anthology on Yom Kippur, and Sefer, Sofer V'sippur, about books and authors.

1889 FINLAND

Jews were officially allowed to live in three cities: Helsinki, Turku, and Vyborg. Although there were already about 1,000 Jews in Finland, until this date all Jews were temporary residents and had to renew their permits every three months. They were only permitted to deal in second-hand clothes and were forbidden to leave their city of residence.

1889 GRAZIADIO ISIAH ASCOLI (Italy)

Was appointed Senator of the Realm. As one of the foremost pioneers in the field of Philology and as a Jew, he spent much of his time working on ancient Hebrew inscriptions found in Italy.

1889 - 1944 I.J. SINGER (Poland-USA)

Older brother of Isaac Bashevis Singer. He is known for his naturalistic and realistic styles of writing including Yoshe Kalb, The Brothers Ashkenazi and East of Eden.

1889 - 1919 JACOB SVERDLOFF (Russia)

Communist organizer and leader. An early communist activist, he was exiled to a prison camp on an island near the Artic circle. Sverdloff tried to escape 5 times, the last time in a small boat which capsized during a storm. After the Revolution, Stalin recognized his organizational capabilities and appointed him the first secretary of the Central Committee. Sverdloff worked closely with both Stalin and Lenin, ensuring that the Bolshevik faction would be the strongest. In his honor the city Yekaterinburg was renamed Sverdlovsk.

1889 JEWISH COLONIZATION OF ARGENTINA

First began. Although Jews had been living in Argentina since the beginning of the 17th century they only received rights in 1853. To a great extent this was achieved through the efforts of Baron de Hirsch's Jewish Colonial Association(JCA). A census taken two years earlier showed 366 Jews in Buenos Aires.

1889 POLNO (Poland)

A young Jew named Hilsner was imprisoned on a ritual murder charge. Although there wasn't any real incriminating evidence, he was kept in jail until after theRevolution in 1918.

1889 RUSSIA

Jews were not allowed to practice law without a special permit.

1889 ISAAC ALGAZI (Izmir, Turkey – Montevideo, Uruguay)

Cantor and early Sephardic recording artist. And know as “Ne’im Zemirot Israel “(Sweet Singer of Israel). Algazi was a third generation cantor , the scion of a family who had roots in turkey since the very beginning of the 17th century. He was a pioneer in recording ladino (Judeo-Spanish) folk songs , religious music, and classic Turkish music.

1889 - 1970 BESSIE ABRAMOWITZ HILLMAN (Russia-USA)

Labor leader and activist. In September 1910, she led 16 women to strike against poor working conditions. Eventually 40,000 people joined the strike, paralyzing the industry. Abramowitz joined with labor leader Sidney Hillman (whom she would marry) to found Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA). She served in the AFL-CIO, and was an early and strong supporter for the Civil Rights Movement. President John F. Kennedy appointed her to the President’s Commission on the Status of Women.

1889 - 1974 WALTER LIPPMAN (USA) 

Columist and Journalist. Lippman was for several years an assistant to the philosopher George Santayana, a position which undoubtedly influenced his journalistic approach. He won two Pulitzer prizes, one in 1958 and the other in 1962. His daily column was read internationally. His nearly 30 books include The Cold War (1947), The Public Philosophy (1955), and Drift and Mastery (1961).

1890 - 1976 FRITZ LANG (Germany-France-USA) 

Film director - Lang began his career as a painter. His early expressionist films -Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Die Nibelungen, and Metropolis - made him an important player in German film. Though offered directorship of the Third Reich's film industry by Goebbels he fled to France and then to the USA, fearing that the Nazis would discover that his mother was Jewish. His American films includedFury, Scarlet Street and While the City Sleeps. They were considered prime examples of film noir.

1890 IGNATIUS DONNELLY (USA) 

Published Caesar's Column, a utopian anti-Semitic novel showing the Jews (Israelites) as the international bankers and rulers of Europe.

1890 - 1917 SARAH AARONSOHN (Eretz Israel) 

Jewish patriot and heroine. In 1915 she witnessed the Turkish massacre of Armenians, an experience which may have triggered her joining her brother Aaron in NILI's (see 1915) spy operations against the Turks. In 1917 on a visit to Egypt she was warned by the British not to return to Eretz Israel, but she refused to comply. Upon her arrival, she warned the members of NILI to disband but remained at home in Zichron Yaakov so as to allay any suspicion. She was arrested by the Turkish military authorities on October l of the same year. After three days of torture, and fearing that she may reveal information, she managed to shoot and kill herself.

1890 - 1948 SOLOMON MIKHOELS (Russia) 

Leading Russian and Yiddish actor famed for his roles as Tevye and King Lear. During the Second World War he tried to win support for the Russian war effort by touring England and the United States. On January 13, 1948 he was killed by the secret police under Stalin's orders, as part of a campaign to eradicate Jewish intellectualism and culture.

1890 - 1952 YITZCHAK SADEH (Russia-Eretz Israel) 

A military leader, Sadeh was decorated in the Czarist army in World War I. In the wake of the Arab rebellion of 1936, Sadeh - who had helped set up the labor brigade in the 1920's - proposed moving from a policy of defending settlements to seeking out Arab units in the open. He became the first commander of thePlugot Sadeh (Field Units) of the Haganah which became known as thePalmach. Yigal Alon described him as a great lover "of country, women, and the implacable logic of history".

1890 February 22, MENAHEM USSISHKIN (Russia-Eretz Israel) 

One of the founders of the Odessa Committee. The Committee was dedicated to the practical exponent of the Hovevei Zion in establishing agricultural settlements in Eretz Israel. Ussishkin later served as president of the Jewish National Fund. He was one of the few Zionist leaders who actually settled in Eretz Israel.

1890 April 1, ZIONISM 

Nathan Birnbaum (1864-1937) in his journal Selbstemanzipation (Self Emancipation) coined the term "Zionism". Birnbaum's idea was to change the philanthropic approach of the time towards the return of Jews to Eretz Israel to a more activist or political one. Although the idea of a return to Zion had been a foundation of Jewish thought and belief since biblical times, it only became a practical political movement at this time. This was later adopted as the Basel Program by the First Zionist Congress under Herzl (see 1897).

1890 October 2, - 1977 GROUCHO (JULIUS) MARX (USA) 

Comedian and entertainer. Groucho began his career with his brothers as a singing vaudeville act organized by their mother Minnie who actually sang with them. Of all the brothers it was Groucho who attained almost icon status during his lifetime. After a string of successful movies he hosted a hit show You Bet Your Life for over ten years and published several books.

1891 - 1979 FATHER CHARLES COUGHLIN (USA)

"The Radio Priest" began his broadcasts in 1926 and by the 1930's was one of the most influential men in America with almost one third of the population listening to his anti-Semitic broadcasts. Coughlin also edited the paper Social Justice. A supporter of Roosevelt, he turned against him feeling that his reforms weren't radical enough. Though there was public protest against his broadcasts, his superiors took a surprisingly long time (1940's) before terminating his activities.

1891 - 1982 ZVI JUDAH KOOK (Eretz Israel) 

Rabbi and religious Zionist leader. Rav Zvi Judah was the son of Abraham Isaac Kook. He succeeded his father as the head of Yeshivat Mercaz Harav. His lectures dealing with the "Love of the Land of Israel" drew large crowds. Rav Kook was instrumental in encouraging his students to settle in all parts of the land of Israel. His halachic decisions within the field of modern events were published as L'Netivot Yisrael.

1891 March 5, PRESIDENT HARRISON (USA) 

Was presented with a petition by prominent non-Jews requesting an international conference to consider and bring to a just conclusion the Jewish claims to Eretz Israel.

1891 March 28 - 29, (Passover) JEWS EXPELLED FROM MOSCOW (Russia)

Grand Duke Sergei, the Czar's brother who had just become governor of Moscow, ordered the expulsion of all Jews from the city. Permission to remain was only given to those who would convert or to women who were willing to become prostitutes. In addition, a few thousand former cantonists who were registered and wealthy merchants were allowed to continue residing in Moscow. In January 1892, in middle of a deep cold spell, the Jewish quarter was surrounded and Jews who had until then avoided expulsion were hunted by the police and firemen. In all, approximately 14,000 Jewish families were expelled tothe Pale.

1891 April 1, Ritual murder accusation (Corfu)

Rubina Sarda the local Jewish tailor's 8 year old daughter, was found dead. Her father Vita was immediately accused of the crime by the local constable. Others, including police, spread a rumor that the girl was not Jewish but really a Christian by the name of Maria Desylla, and was killed for ritual purposes. The local Greek orthodox leader or metropolite refused to intervene and “disappeared” until the incident was over. Despite a declaration by her teacher, confirmed by the French consul at Corfu, that she was Jewish the local Jewish community was attacked with violence spreading to other parts of Greece. Approximately 5 of the 7,000 Jews of Corfu fled by boat with their property confiscated by locals. Some were thrown overboard. None of the perpetrators were punished.

1891 May 11, - 1967 HENRY MORGENTHAU JR. (USA) 

Agricultural expert and financier. An early friend of President Roosevelt, he joined him in Washington and was named to head the Federal Farm Board. In 1934, he was appointed secretary of the Treasury where he was a strong supporter of tax reforms and responsible for the funding of Roosevelt's New Deal. Morgenthau was an early adherent of America joining in the war against Germany and was instrumental in the setting up of the War Refugee Board. He helped many Jewish organizations and served as the honorary chairman of the United Jewish Appeal.

1891 June 29, XANTEN (Germany)

Ritual murder libel. The rise of anti-Semitism culminating in this libel resulted in an exodus from Germany to the United States and other countries.

1891 August 22, - 1973 JACQUES LIPCHITZ, (Lithuania-USA )

Cubist sculptor. Lipchitz did much of his work in stone and bronze. Often with Jewish or biblical themes, he created a sculpture called The Miracles for the creation of the State of Israel. His last work, which was commissioned by Hadassah Hospital on Mt. Scopus, was a six-meter-high bronze The Tree of Life, representing the patriarchs and their descendants.

1891 August 28, WOODBINE (New Jersey, USA) 

Was established as an agricultural community with funding from Baron de Hirschand his Baron de Hirsch Fund. The fund was dedicated to promoting rural Jewish communities in the United States and joined with the ICA (Jewish Colonial Association) in 1900. An agriculture school was established there in 1894. It became quickly apparent that it would be almost impossible to make a living only through agriculture, and light industry was also brought in. Other communities were established in New Jersey, including Vineland, Toms River, and Farmingdale, as well as many others throughout the USA. All were part of the efforts to absorb new Jewish immigrants in rural areas, as well as teach them the language and a trade.

1891 September 11, JEWISH COLONIAL ASSOCIATION (France-England)

Was officially established by Baron de Hirsch. Other shareholders included, among others, Rothschild, Cassel, and Goldsmid. De Hirsh himself donated two million pounds and incorporated the Association in London. His plan was to promote migration of Russian and European Jews and settle them in agricultural areas in countries around the world.

1892 DAVID SCHWARTZ (Hungary)

Invented the dirigible airship. Since he died before he made his flight, his widow sold the patents to Count Zeppelin, who received the credit.

1892 WORKMEN'S CIRCLE (Arbeiter Bing) (USA)

Was formed in the United States as a Jewish labor organization. It ran its own schools, social activities, and cemetery (burial) organization.

1892 - 1982 DAVID DUBINSKY (Belarus - USA)

Pioneering labor leader. Dubinsky, like Sidney Hillman, was arrested for organizing a Bakers' Union in Lodz but managed to escape to teh USA in 1910. Arriving in New York, he rose from being an apprentice in Cutters' Local 10 to becoming president of the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) from 1932-1966. Dubinsky was active in the Jewish Labor Committee and a supporter the Histadrut, Israel's General Federation of Labor.

1892 ELHANAN LEWINSKY (1857-1910) (Russia)

A Hebrew writer who published a utopian view of the Zionist dream, A Journey to the Land of Israel in the Year 2040. Lewinsky combined his job as the representative of Carmel wines with that of a Zionist leader traveling throughout Russia. He was a prolific journalist who made use of humor and Jewish legends in his writing.

1892 KAISER WILHELM II (1859-1941) (Germany) 

Fired Adolph Stoecker for excessive socialism, but not for his anti-Semitism. Stoecker's Christian Socialist Party fell along with him, although anti-Semitism continued to be considered respectable.

1892 January, CZARIST GOVERNMENT (Russia)

Closed the Volozhin Yeshiva after Rabbi Berlin (see 1817) refused to agree to the new Russian decrees. These included, reducing the number of students, prohibiting night time study, and limiting study to ten hours per day of which six would be dedication to secular studies. . The Rabbi and his family were exiled. Although the Yeshiva eventual reopened, it never attained its former glory. The last 50 students and the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Hayyim Wolkin, were murdered by the Nazis at Ponar.

1892 July 10, L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO

The official Vatican Newspaper publishes an article supporting ritual blood accusation. The article claimed that there were many unimpeachable witnesses to the “fact” that Jews use Christian blood for preparing Matzo.

1892 October 20, EDUARD SCHNITZER (Emin Pasha) (1840-1892) (Austria-Africa)

Was assassinated. He had taken on the Turkish name Emin Pasha and traveled throughout Africa as an explorer, linguist, adventurer, administrator, and especially as a doctor. He spent much of his time in Khartoum (in the Sudan) while serving as a governor under General Gordon. Pasha was a tireless fighter against the slave trade which was still rampant. He had returned to Central Africa on a semi-political voyage for Germany when he was murdered by slave traders.

1893 BUKHARA (Russia)

After the "May laws" were issued, many Jews decided to leave for Israel. The Bukharim set up their own community in Jerusalem.

1893 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN (USA)

Was created by German Jews to protect immigrant girls from white slave traders. Founded by Hannah Solomon, it also established educational, social, and cultural services for women. It was the first national women's Jewish organization in the United States.

1893 RICHARD WOLFINSTEIN (Germany)

A chemist, he discovered hydrogen peroxide.

1893 - 1963 ABBA HILLEL SILVER (USA) 

Reform rabbi, Jewish leader, orator and prominent Zionist. Silver's pro-Zionist ideas were considered highly unusual at the Hebrew Union College at that time. He served as a congregational rabbi in Cleveland from the age of 24 until his death. Silver was a founder of the United Jewish Appeal (today the United Jewish Communities) and helped organize a German boycott after the take over by the Nazi party. He also was one of the few who openly criticized Roosevelt's anti- Zionist policy even during the war. After the creation of the State of Israel, he was shunted aside by Ben Gurion who resented Silver's position in fundraising and allocations.

1893 - 1950 HAROLD JOSEPH LASKI (England) 

Political scientist and socialist leader in England. A prolific writer and lecturer, his works include: Grammar of Politics, Democracy in Crisis and The American Democracy. He favored assimilation until World War II, when he became an outspoken Zionist.

1893 JUSTINAS PRANAITIS (St. Petersburg, Russia)

"Proved" that Jews used the blood of Christian children in the baking of matzos. In 1911 he was the "expert" witness in the Beilis trial.

1893 - 1965 MARGARETE SOMMER (Germany)

Catholic social worker. During the Holocaust, she helped protect Jews from deportation to death camps and hide them whenever possible. She was also a leader in the Catholic resistance circle of Berlin. In August 1942 she composed a report which was sent to Rome, regarding the deportation of Jews and the conditions in concentration camps. Sommer together with Konrad Preysing, the German prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, made a major effort to get the Catholic Church to speak out and even drafted a statement for the Fulda Conference in 1943. The declaration would have condemned German atrocities, but they were stymied by Cardinal Adolf Bertram who chaired the conference. Yad Vashem recognized Margarete Sommer as Righteous Among the Nations.

1893 March 26, CENTRAL SOCIETY OF GERMAN CITIZENS OF THE JEWISH FAITH (Germany)

Was created to defend Jews against anti-Semitic libels in Germany. After 1933 it provided legal advice to German Jews. It was closed down by the Gestapo in 1938.

1893 December 12, - 1973 EDWARD G. ROBINSON (Emanuel Goldenberg) (USA)

Originally typecast as a gangster, he starred in over 150 films. Robinson was a linguist and broadcasted to Germany in German during WWII. He was an accomplished painter, and one of the foremost art collectors in the United States.

1894 DREYFUS AFFAIR (France) 

Began in France. Alfred Dreyfus, an Alsatian captain, was accused of passing military secrets to the Germans. Dreyfus was not religious or even acknowledged as a Jew, yet he became the pawn of anti-Semitic and anti-Republic forces. The entire country became divided between Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards. The subsequent trial and its anti-Semitic overtones served as an impetus for many Jews (i.e. Herzl) to become aware of their own Jewishness.

1894 - 1943 HAYYIM SOUTINE (Russia-France)

Artist known for his passionate and often disturbing use of color and form. Soutine was befriended by Modigliani who introduced him to art dealers. At the outbreak of the war, he refused to leave France and died of ulcers brought on by his constantly having to move and remain in hiding.

1894 - 1917 NICHOLAS II (Russia) 

Last of the Russian Czars. Nicholas was extremely anti-semitic. He continued Alexander III's policies against the Jews and carried them one step further by commissioning Sergei Nilus, a monk, to write something which would arouse hatred of the Jews. The result of this was the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion (see 1905). A weak ruler, he was influenced by everyone around him: Mescherski (editor of a Slavophilist newspaper), Pobednostav and especially his wife, Princess Alix (Alexandra Fedorovna.)

1894 February 14, - 1974 JACK BENNY (Benjamin Kubelsky) (USA) 

Like many comedians of his era, he began in vaudeville and became known for using his violin as a prop. In 1932, he began his radio show, The Jack Benny Program and in 1950, made the successful transition into television winning two Emmy awards. Benny was famous for his alter-ego personality: never aging beyond 39, a tightwad persona, and inept violin playing (he was actually generous in real life and an exceptional violinist). Trademarks of his comic routine was when he paused, resting his chin on his hand, and uttered the word "Well!" or telling his audience in an aside, "Now cut that out!"

1894 February 28, - 1964 BEN HECHT (USA) 

Novelist, playwright, and screen writer. He authored 35 books and many screenplays. Although some of his earlier works that dealt with Jewish themes were not overly sympathetic (A Jew in Love), he changed with the rise of Nazism (A Guide for the Bedevilled) and became involved in Jewish activism. During the 1940's, he staged two pageants, Remember Us and A Flag Is Born, and became active in the Irgun Zvai Leumi. Due to his political activities in Eretz Israel his credits were removed from all films shown in England for a number of years. An illegal immigrant ship was named Ben Hecht in his honor. Hecht wrote his controversial Perfidy about the Kastner trial and attacked Ben Gurion and the Zionist establishment for their conduct during the war. His best selling biography is called A Child of the Century. Hecht worked on 150 films including Monkey Business, Wuthering Heights, and Gone with the Wind as well as the successful play The Front Page.

1894 June 3, - 1951 ARTHUR SZYK (Poland-USA) 

A war cartoonist, he was also famous for his traditional and modern Jewish and secular characters using a technique of miniaturization. He became associated with Jabotinsky's Revisionists and the Irgun underground organization.

1895 BOSTON (USA)

Federation of Jewish Charities was organized. It was the first organization to combine five separate groups for the purpose of common fund raising.

1895 - 1986 (13 Adar 5746) MOSES FEINSTEIN (Russia-USA) 

Rabbi, halachist and leader of American Orthodox Jewry. Born in Uzda, Belarus, he was the Rabbi of Luban until he left for the United States in 1937. He was head of the Mesivta (Yeshiva) Tiferes Yerushalayim in New York. Rabbi Feinstein became the world-renowned leader in the applications of Halacha to modern technology and current issues. His responsa Igrot Moshe are accepted as the final word by most of the Orthodox Ashkenazi community.

1895 - 1982 NAHUM GOLDMANN (Lithuania-Germany-USA)

Jewish and Zionist leader. Goldmann was very involved early on in Zionistactivities. After World War II he choose not to live in Israel, a move for which he was much criticized. Despite his personal separation of Zionism from living in Israel, he served in senior positions in the World Zionist Organization. Goldmann was a key player in the reparation agreements between Germany and Israel. He was active in the World Jewish Congress serving as its president until 1977. He was also was instrumental in the publication of the Encyclopedia Judaica.

1895 January 5, DREYFUS AFFAIR (France) 

Dreyfus was tried and found guilt of treason. He was publicly degraded and sent to Devil's Island. Later on evidence was produced which proved that Major Esterhazy and Colonel Henry, Dreyfus' chief accusers, had forged the evidence, yet a new trial was not begun until 1899.

1896 JEWISH DAILY FORWARD (USA)

A Yiddish newspaper was established by Abraham Cahan. The paper soon emerged as the leading labor daily in New York.

1896 NOVARDOK (Belarus)

Rabbi Joseph Hurwitz established a yeshiva devoted to Kabbalah, asceticism and the training of teachers.

1896 - 1981 DAVID WECHSLER (USA) 

Psychologist. Wechsler served as Chief Psychologist at Bellevue hospital in New York and produced a standard intelligence test which is named after him. His tests tracks performance by age and helps diagnose brain abnormalities.

1896 - 1989 SALO BARON (Austria-USA) 

Historian and Scholar. Baron received doctorates in law, philosophy, and political science as well as rabbinical ordination. Although a prolific author, he is chiefly famed for his 17 volume A Social and Religious History of the Jews which relates to social history rather then concentrating on personalities.

1896 - 1973 SAMUEL IRVING ROSENMAN (USA)

Jurist and presidential advisor. Rosenman began his liberal politics helping Roosevelt when he was governor of New York. He continued in this role throughout Roosevelt's presidential terms in office. Rosenman is credited with coining the slogan, the New Deal and the term "the Brain Trust" He was especially helpful to Weizmann bringing him the information that Truman would recognize the Jewish state as long as partition was still accepted by the UN.

1896 January 20, - 1996 GEORGE BURNS (Nathan Birnbaum) (USA) 

Comedian and centenarian. Burns also began his career singing at the age of seven, although he did it on his own at street corners. In 1923, he began his life long partnership in entertainment with Gracie Allen who became his wife. Their radio program ran from 1932 -1949 and after which they moved into television. Burns won an Academy Award in 1975 for his appearance in The Sunshine Boys.

1896 February 14, HERZL (Vienna, Austria) 

Published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State). This was basically a revision of his Address to the Rothschilds. In it Herzl envisioned a Jewish state as the only solution to the "Jewish Question". This could be attained in two stages, firstly the establishment of a political base and then mass aliyah (immigration). Many Western European Jews rejected his thesis, but it had the effect of pushing him into the spotlight and thereafter he was regarded the leader of the Zionistmovement.

1896 March 15, HEBREW UNION VETERANS ORGANIZATION

The first veteran's organization in America was founded. It later became the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America.

1896 April 6, THE FIRST MODERN OLYMPIAD OPENS (Athens)

Among the 6 Jews who won medals (8 gold), were two cousins on the German gymnastics team, Alfred and Gustav (Felix) Flatow. Alfred won three gold medals Gustav two. During WWW II they fled to the Netherlands. They were eventually deported to Theresienstadt where they both died, Gustav of starvation..

1896 April 15, KAISER WILHELM II APPROACHED REGARDING THE ZIONIST IDEA

William Hechler, the Anglican minister who befriended Herzl, met with his friend the Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden, ( the Kaisers’ uncle) and the Kaiser himself. He broached the idea of restoration of the Jews to their historic homeland. This led to a meeting between Herzl, the grand duke and Hechler on April 23, which in turn led to the later historic meetings between Herzl and the Kaiser.

1897 POLAND

Roman Dmowski, Jan Poplawski, and Sigismund Balicki founded the Endeks (National Democrats) which vowed to refuse Jews citizenship and expel them. They planned to have a "national state, not a state of nationals".

1897 PRAGUE (Bohemia)

After a decade of developing anti-Semitism, anti-Jewish riots broke out.

1897 VIENNA (Austria)

Franz Joseph confirmed the election of Karl Lueger as Mayor of Vienna (after refusing to do so three times). Lueger's party, the anti-Semitic Christian Social Party, was the first to come to power using anti-Semitism as a platform.

1897 - 1944 LOUIS "LEPKE" BUCHALTER (USA) 

Crime boss. Though quiet, Lepke was known for his violence. He ruled over an army of gangsters who controlled unions and the extortion rackets. Lepke was one of the founders of the National Crime Syndicate and was in charge of the enforcement branch which became known as "Murder Inc." In 1944 he was executed in Sing Sing Prison for killing a truck driver.

1897 - 1972 WALTER WINCHELL (USA) 

Columnist and commentator, Winchell is considered one of the architects of modern journalism. He was famous for his sensational disclosures for which he became a byword. Two thirds of American radio listeners and weekly readers (estimated at 35 million people) followed his often harsh commentaries about American political and social life. Winchell was one of the first to warn about the rise of the Nazis in Germany.

1897 March 20, YESHIVA RABBI ISAAC ELHANAN (New York, USA)

Was opened as an Orthodox rabbinical seminary. It later expanded into Yeshiva University, with both Jewish and secular studies, a medical school (Einstein), and a graduate school (Ferkauf).

1897 June 4, DIE WELT (The World) (Vienna, Austria)

First publication of the Zionist weekly founded by Theodore Herzl. Die Welt ran until 1914 and was the official publication of the World Zionist Organization. The paper dealt with Zionist ideas and events as well as anti- Semitism. Among its editors were Martin Buber and Nahum Sokolow.

1897 August 29, FIRST ZIONIST CONGRESS (Basel, Switzerland) 

Was convened by Theodore Herzl and Max Nordau. It was represented by a hundred and ninety-seven delegates. Herzl put forth his Basel Program, whose aim was "the establishment of a Jewish Homeland in Eretz Israel secured by public law". The congress endorsed the founding of the Zionist Organization later known as the World Zionist Organization, along with other permanent institutions. It also endorsed the Zionist congress as a national assembly representing the entire Jewish people. The congress transformed the Zionist movement into an official political movement.

1897 October 7, FIRST CONFERENCE OF THE BUND (Jewish Workers Union) (Vilna,Lithuania) 

It was the first Jewish Socialist party in Eastern Europe. At first decidedly anti-Zionist and pro-Yiddishist, it was organized as a union of Russian Jewish socialist groups. The Bund exerted a great influence on Jews in Europe and America.

1897 December 2, L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO

In an article discussing the Dreyfus Affair, comments that “The Jewish race, the deicide people… bearing with it everywhere the pestiferous breath of treason.... And so, too, in the Dreyfus case...it is hardly surprising if we again find the Jew in the front ranks, or if we find that the betrayal of one's country has been Jewishly conspired and Jewishly executed.”

1898 CUBA

Jews were granted the previously forbidden right to build synagogues and worship publicly.

1898 RISHON LEZION (Eretz Israel)

The first Hebrew speaking kindergarten opened.

1898 - 1995 ALFRED EISENSTAEDT (Germany-USA) 

Has been called the "father of photojournalism". Starting in Berlin in 1929 he produced candid but incisive documentary photographs and portraits. In 1936, he became one of the original staff photographers of Life Magazine.

1898 - 1936 GEORGE GERSHWIN (Brooklyn, USA) 

Considered by some to be the greatest Twentieth Century composer. He studied under Rubin, the composer of Hiawatha, and Gettysburg Requiem, and had a powerful influence on American music. His immortal Rhapsody in Blue, a classical jazz piece, was performed by Paul Whitman in 1924. Other great works include Porgy and Bess and An American in Paris.

1898 - 1978 GOLDA MEIR (MEYERSON) (Russia-USA-Eretz Israel) 

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Born in Russia, her earliest memories were of the pogroms. Her family moved to Milwaukee and in 1921 she moved from there to Israel and worked at various jobs on a kibbutz and in the Histadrut. She became Ambassador to Russia in 1948 and Foreign Minister in 1956. In 1970, after the death of Levi Eshkol, she was appointed Prime Minister and served until after the Yom Kippur War when, accused of unpreparedness, she resigned.

1898 - 1988 ISADORE RABI (USA) 

Physicist and Nobel Prize winner. Rabi was a pioneer in the fields of nuclear physics and quantum mechanics. He served in the advisory committee of the Atomic Energy Commission and helped create the European Center for Nuclear Research.

1898 - 1948 SERGEI EISENSTEIN (Russia) 

Russian film director. An architect by training, he joined the Russian Revolution. His first film was in 1924 Strike but it was his next film which propelled him into film history with The Battleship Potemkin. He was constantly having to fight Soviet politics, often having parts of his films re-edited (October), or even withheld (Ivan the Terrible) if it did not meet Stalin's approval. His classic films included The General Line, Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible.

1898 January 13, EMILE ZOLA (France) 

Acting on behalf of Dreyfus, he issued his famous "J'Accuse" letter in Clemenceau's paper L'Aurore condemning the French establishment in the Dreyfus Affair.

1898 April, SECOND BUNDIST CONFERENCE ( Kovno)

The Russian government arrested 70 participants. Many were exiled.

1898 April 24, SPANISH AMERICAN WAR BEGAN (USA) 

Fifteen Jews serving on the battleship the USS Maine were killed when it sank. Five thousand Jews served in the American Army, a ratio of 20% more than the general population including 30 army and 20 naval officers. The first person of Colonel Roosevelt's Rough Riders to reach the top of San Juan Hill was also a Jew - Irving Peixotto and the first to be killed was Jacob Wilbusky.

1898 June 8, UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA (U.O.J.C.A.)

Was established. The OU, as it became known, is the largest organization of Orthodox synagogues in the U.S.A. Today it is known for kashrut supervision on thousands of products in North America. It plays an important role in informal Jewish education through its student organization Yavneh and its National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) groups. It also sponsores the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists.

1898 October 1, KIEV (Ukraine) 

A decree by the Russian Czar (Nicholas II) explicitly barred Jews from living in major Russian cities. The action followed laws issued the previous May (the"May laws"), restricting Jewish settlement to the Pale of Settlement. In Kiev, alone, some 7000 Jews were forced to relocate.

1898 October 28, KAISER WILLIAM II (Germany) 

Visited Eretz Israel and met with Herzl. Herzl was disappointed by the lack of commitment on the part of the Kaiser. Much of this was due to the opposition to the Zionist enterprise of German liberal Jews, bankers, and his foreign minister, Bernhard von Buelow.

1899 - 1902 BOER WAR (South Africa)

A direct outcome of the war was the movement into the interior. Jewish settlements were established and strengthened in Durban, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. At the time there were approximately 25,000 Jews in South Africa.

1899 GAVRILA ROMANOVICH DERZHAVIN ( Russia)

The famed Russian poet (1743 – 1816) had been appointed by czar Paul I to investigate the famine in white Russia. In his report Opinion, he placed most of the blame on the "mercenary trades" of Jews.

1899 JEWISH COLONIAL TRUST (England-Eretz Israel) 

The financial arm of the World Zionist Organization was set up in England byHerzl. Its goal was to encourage Jewish settlement and projects which would "advance the Zionist cause". One of its subsidiaries, the Anglo-Palestine Company, later became Bank Leumi. Other investment helped create the Israel Electric Cooperation and Bank Hapoalim.

1899 - 1966 MOSHE KOUSSEVITZKY (Kusevitsky) (Lithuania - USA)

Hazzan. Koussevitzky became the cantor in the Great Synagogue of Vilna in 1924. After an argument in 1927 between Sirota and the Board regarding his frequent concerts, Koussevitzky was appointed in his place at the Great Synagogue ("Tlomackie Shul") in Warsaw. During WWII he found refuge in Russia where he even performed in the Russian Opera. He immigrated to the United States after the war. He was considered by many to rival Yossele Rosenblatt for the title of the greatest cantor of all times.

1899 April 1, HILSNER AFFAIR (Polna,Bohemia) 

A young seamstress was found murdered in a forest, her throat cut. Leopold Hilsner, a 23 year old semi illiterate tramp, was seen near the site and accused of the murder despite the lack of incriminating evidence. It soon developed into aritual murder accusation and Hislner was sentenced to death. Through the efforts of Tomas Masaryk (later the first President of Czechoslovakia) an appeal was made to the Supreme Court. Masaryk also published a pamphlet against ritual murder accusations. Hilsner was again sentenced to death but it was commuted to life imprisonment. He was pardoned by Karl (Charles)I of Austria on March 24, 1918.

1899 September 9, DREYFUS' SECOND TRIAL (France) 

Dreyfus was again convicted of treason but due to "extenuating circumstances" he was sentenced to "only" five more years of imprisonment. On the advice of his lawyer, Waldeck-Rousseau, Dreyfus withdrew his appeal and was granted a "pardon" by the president of the republic.