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