Leo Wise (October 28, 1849 – January 27, 1933) was a Jewish-American newspaper editor and publisher.

Life

Wise was born on October 28, 1849, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, the son of Rabbi

Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819 – 26 March 1900) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in Bohemia (today Lomnička, a part of Plesná in the Czech Republic). He was the son ...

and Theresa Bloch. He moved to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, with his family in 1854, where his father became rabbi of what later became known as the Isaac M. Wise Temple. In 1863, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Wise briefly served in the River Flotilla of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He attended St. Xavier College and Farmers College in Cincinnati,

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, and the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He graduated from Farmers College with an A.B. in 1867 and from the University of Michigan with an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1869. In 1872, he became one of the original prospectors of the diamond fields in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. At

Du Toit's Pan Du Toit's Pan, now usually Dutoitspan, is one of the earliest diamond mining camps at what is now Kimberley, South Africa. It was renamed Beaconsfield, which existed as a separate borough from Kimberley itself until Kimberley and Beaconsfield wer ...

, he opened a new digging initially called New Rush and later became the famous Colesberg Kopje in the Kimberley district. He spent time sailing around the world, spending time with the bushmen in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Wise returned to the United States in 1875. While he previously studied law at the University of Michigan, he never practiced it. Instead, he became associated with ''Die Deborah'' and ''

The American Israelite ''The American Israelite'' is an English-language Jewish newspaper published weekly in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1854 as ''The Israelite'' and assuming its present name in 1874, it is the longest-running English-language Jewish newspaper st ...

'', both of which were founded by his father. He was publisher of ''Die Deborah'' from until 1890, and from 1900 to 1928 he was managing editor and publisher of ''The American Israelite''. He was also publisher of the ''American Jews' Annual'', a yearly publication devoted to literature and belletristics from 1884 to 1892. He went to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, several times to protest Russian exclusion of American Jews who wanted to visit that country, and in 1882 he helped around 150 Jewish immigrants settle on

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

farm lands. He established the ''Chicago Israelite'' in 1885 and served as its publisher. He also published most of his father's books. Wise was Master of District No. 2 of

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the se ...

and a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He attended Congregation B'nai Yeshurun. In 1886, he married Pauline Goodman. They had no children. Wise died at his home in the Hotel Alms on January 27, 1933, within a week of his wife's death. Rabbi James G. Heller conducted the funeral service at the Weil Funeral Home. He was buried in the

United Jewish Cemetery United Jewish Cemetery is a Reform Jewish cemetery, located at 3400 Montgomery Road in the Evanston neighborhood, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The cemetery was opened by members of Bene Israel and B'nai Jeshurum congregations in 1862. The first burial was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Leo 1849 births 1933 deaths 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews American people of Czech-Jewish descent American Reform Jews American lawyers Union Navy sailors People from Albany, New York Lawyers from Cincinnati Xavier University alumni Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni 19th-century American newspaper founders 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Publishers (people) of German-language newspapers in the United States Editors of Ohio newspapers 19th-century American newspaper editors 20th-century American newspaper editors