Moritz A(Adolph). Jagendorf (August 24, 1888 – January 8, 1981) was an

Austrian-American Austrian Americans (, ) are Americans of Austrian descent, chiefly German-speaking Catholics and Jews. According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 735,128 Americans of full or partial Austrian descent, accounting for 0.3% of the population. The ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

author. Jagendorf was born in

Czernowitz Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

around the age of 15. He earned his doctoral dental studies degree in 1916 from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He helped revitalize the

Pi Lambda Phi Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...

fraternity by founding the NY Alpha chapter. While practicing as a dentist, Jagendorf's interests remained in the folklore of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He wrote several stories for children based on folktales he had heard from these various cultures. He was a noted

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

. He wrote for

Hippolyte Havel Hippolyte Havel (1871–1950) was a Czech-American anarchist who was known as an activist in the United States and part of the radical circle around Emma Goldman in the early 20th century. He had been imprisoned as a young man in Austria-Hung ...

's ''Revolt'' and co-edited ''The Road to Freedom ''with Harry Kelly. In an interview in 1978 he said, ''"The only progress is in the individual, in you yourself; and through progress you better the whole world. And that is as far as you can go. I said that in 1914 to Leonard Abbott and again in the 1920s and 1930s, and I still say it today."'' He helped to found the Free Theatre, was director of the Children's Playhouse, and was active in the following organizations: Mohegan Colony Association, Story League, Green Room Club, Overseas Press and the New York Folktale Society. He also wrote a book on making wines and other beverages: Folk Wines, Cordials & Brandies: How to Make Them, Along with the Pleasures of Their Lore, Publisher: Vanguard Pr Date Published: 6/1/1963 He was mentioned at the end of S01E06 (originally broadcast 22 March 1998) of the British comedy series This Morning With Richard Not Judy in an installment of the running joke Men of Achievement 1974.The episode in question, timestamped to the mention of Jagendorf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUw0FCnfdos&t=2523s

References

External links

Jagendorf papers at the University of Southern Mississippi

Jagendorf books on alibris

Jagendorf papers at the University of Oregon.
Folklorists Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States 1888 births 1981 deaths {{US-cultural-anthropologist-stub