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Isidore Singer (10 November 1859 – 20 February 1939) was an Austrian-born American encyclopedist and editor of '' The Jewish Encyclopedia'' and founder of the American League for the Rights of Man.


Biography

Singer was born in 1859 in Weisskirchen,
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
, in the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
. He studied at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
and the
Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
, receiving his Ph.D. in 1884.


France

After editing the ''Allgemeine oesterreichische Literaturzeitung'' (Austrian literary newspaper) from 1885 to 1886, he became literary secretary to the French ambassador in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. From 1887, he worked in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in the press bureau of the French foreign office and was active in the campaign on behalf of Alfred Dreyfus. In 1893 he founded a short-lived biweekly called ''La Vraie Parole'' as a foil to the anti-Jewish '' La Libre Parole''.


New York

Singer moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1895 where he learned English and taught French, raising the money for the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' he had envisioned.Schwartz 1991, p. 20. Over the course of his career, Singer also proposed many projects which never won backing, including a multi-million-dollar loan to aid the Jews of Eastern Europe, a Jewish university open to students of any background, various encyclopedias about secular topics, and a 25-volume publication series of Hebrew classics. By 1911, the date of this latter proposal, "neither the ewishPublication Society nor any body of respectable scholars would work with him," according to encyclopedist Cyrus Adler.Schwartz 1991, pp. 21–22.


Religious views

Singer held extremely liberal views which at times proved unpopular. He endorsed
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
and the Christian
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
and proposed a Hebrew translation. He founded the Amos Society to promote understanding among followers of monotheistic religions. His 1897 prospectus for the encyclopedia project called for harmony between religions; called the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
and holidays "heavy burdens, or, at best, mere ceremonies" for most Jews; and made the radical suggestion that Jewish parents, if honest with their children, would tell them: Due to the controversy of Singer's outlooks, his publisher, Funk & Wagnalls, agreed to the encyclopedia project only after divesting Singer of editorial control and appointing a board of prestigious Jewish scholars, including rabbis. He died in 1939 in New York City.


Publications

*
Russia at the Bar of the American People: A Memoir of Kinship
'. Funk & Wagnalls, 1904. *
The German Classics
' (1913–1914), with Kuno Francke: twenty volumes. *
A Religion of Truth, Justice, and Peace: A Challenge to Church and Synagogue to Lead in the Realization of the Social and Peace Gospel of the Hebrew Prophets
'. Amos Society: 1924.


References


Citations


Sources

* Schwartz, S. R. ''The Emergence of Jewish Scholarship in America: The Publication of the Jewish Encyclopedia.'' '' Monographs of the Hebrew Union College, Number 13. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1991. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Isidore 1859 births 1939 deaths 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews American encyclopedists American male non-fiction writers American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Czech-Jewish descent Austrian Jews Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish encyclopedists Jews from New York (state) Moravian Jews People from Hranice (Přerov District) University of Vienna alumni