Tag: ephemerides
May 29, 1938: Hungary enacts its first anti-Jewish law
On May 29, 1938, Hungary enacted its first anti-Jewish law. Although the country had not been occupied or annexed by Germany, under pressure from the Nazis it began to adopt restrictions on its Jewish...
May 27, 1915: The writer Herman Wouk, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, was born
On May 27, 1915, the writer Herman Wouk was born, who died in May 2019 shortly after his 104th birthday. Among his best-known writings are "The Mutiny of the Caine" and "A Girl of...
May 25, 1920: The famous opera singer Beverly Sills (Belle Miriam Silverman) “Bubbles” was...
Opera star Beverly Sills (Belle Miriam Silverman, nicknamed “Bubbles” at birth) was born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents on this date in 1929. She was singing professionally on the radio from the age of...
May 21, 1881: The Jew and the Red Cross
Among the small citizens group that launched the American Red Cross with Clara Barton on this date in 1881 was Adolphus Simeon Solomons, a Sephardic Jewish businessman who hosted many of the group’s meetings...
May 18, 1965: Eli Cohen, The Mossad’s Master Spy, was executed
On May 18, 1965, the Israeli Eli Cohen, recognized as one of the most successful spies of modern times, was executed by Syria on espionage charges.
Eli Cohen was born on December 26, 1924 in...
May 13,1916: The great Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem died
Solomon Naumovich (Sholom Nohumovich) Rabinovich (Russian: Соломо́н Нау́мович (Шо́лом Но́хумович) Рабино́вич) was born in 1859 in Pereiaslav and grew up in the nearby shtetl (small town with a large Jewish population) of Voronkiv, in...
May 7, 1912: Columbia University approved plans to award the first Pulitzer Prizes on...
Columbia University approved plans to award the first Pulitzer Prizes on this date in 1912, one year after the death of Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian-born Jewish journalist and newspaper publisher who left a $2...
May 6, 1856: Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was born
Freud, Sigmund (1856–1939), founder of psychoanalysis, was born on 6 May 1856 at Freiberg, Moravia, in the Austro-Hungarian empire (later Príbor, Czech republic), the first of the seven surviving children of Jacob Freud (1815–1896), wool trader, and...
May 5, 475: The Talmud, completed
Rabbi Ravina ben Huna, known as Ravina II, head of the Jewish academy at Sura, a key center of learning in Babylonia, is said to have died on this date in 475. Tradition holds...
May 4, 1947: Prison Break
The Irgun used trucks, British uniforms, and a large bomb to break out 28 Jewish prisoners from the British prison in Acre (Acco) on this date in 1947. Four captured Irgun “terrorists” had been...