Sigmund Mannheimer (May 16, 1835 – December 18, 1909) was a German-born Jewish-American educator.

Life

Mannheimer was born on May 16, 1835, in Kemel,

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

, the son of Simon Mannheimer and Yette Levi. Mannheimer attended the teachers' seminary in

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems was the seat of Bad Ems collective municipality, which has been merged i ...

. He started working as a teacher in the Jewish school in

Schierstein Schierstein is a southwestern borough of Wiesbaden, capital of state of Hesse, Germany. First mentioned in historical records in 860, Schierstein was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926. Today the borough has about 10,000 residents. Situated on the ...

in 1853. He then worked as a teacher in the Jewish school in Hegenheim in 1858. In that year, he also published a German translation of Solomon Klein's "Die Wahrheit über den Talmud". He entered the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

in 1861, graduating from there with a Bachelier ès Lettres in 1863. He began working for the University as Professor of German in 1864. Mennheimer immigrated to America in 1865 and initially lived in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He 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 1867,

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

in 1873, and

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, in 1876. During that time, he worked as a teacher. In 1884, he was appointed professor of exegesis and Aramaic of

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

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 ...

, as well as head of the

Library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

. He served in those positions for 25 years, until his death. In 1909, the College awarded him an honorary D.D. degree. He published several translations, including Henri Jean Baptiste Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu's ''Anti-Semitism'' in 1897 and Solomon Alami's ''Iggereth Musar'' in 1898. He also wrote "Hebrew Reader and Grammar" in 1873, which in 1903 was in its fourth edition. He was also a contributor to ''The Jewish Encyclopedia''. In 1869, Mannheimer married Louise Herschman in a ceremony conducted by Rabbi David Einhorn. Louise was a writer in her own right as well as a communal worker. Their children included elocutionist Jennie Mannheimer, Rabbi Eugene Max Mannheimer, Rabbi Leo Mannheimer, and Edna Mannheimer. Mannheimer died from

myocarditis Myocarditis is inflammation of the cardiac muscle. Myocarditis can progress to inflammatory cardiomyopathy when there is associated ventricular remodeling and cardiac dysfunction due to chronic inflammation. Symptoms can include shortness of bre ...

at the Home of Jewish Aged and Infirm in Cincinnati on December 18, 1909. He was attending services at the Home's chapel when he collapsed shortly after sitting down next to

Gotthard Deutsch Gotthard Deutsch (; 31 January 1859 – 14 October 1921) was a scholar of Jewish history. Education Deutsch was born in Dolní Kounice, Moravia, Austria, as Eliezer Deutsch, the son of Bernhard L. Deutsch, a merchant, and Elise Wiener. He ...

. He was buried in the Walnut Hills Jewish Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mannheimer, Sigmund 1835 births 1909 deaths Emigrants from the Duchy of Nassau 19th-century German Jews American people of German-Jewish descent University of Paris alumni German emigrants to the United States 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews Jews from Maryland Jews from Missouri Jews from New York (state) Jews from Ohio Educators from Cincinnati 19th-century American academics 20th-century American academics Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion faculty Jewish American academics Librarians from Ohio Contributors to the Jewish Encyclopedia Deaths from myocarditis