Sir Israel Gollancz, FBA (13 July 1863 – 23 June 1930) was a scholar of early

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

and of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. He was Professor of English Language and Literature at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, from 1903 to 1930. Gollancz was born 13 July 1863, in London, sixth of seven children of Rabbi Samuel Marcus Gollancz (1820–1900), cantor of the Hambro Synagogue, London, and his wife, Johanna Koppell. He was the younger brother of Sir Hermann Gollancz and the uncle of the publisher

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christ ...

. In 1910, he married Alide Goldschmidt in London. He was a founder member and the first Secretary (1902–1930) of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

and of the committee for a Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, which eventually became the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and he was the Director of the Early English Text Society. He edited the "Temple" Shakespeare, a uniform edition of the complete works in pocket size volumes which was the most popular Shakespeare edition of its day. In 1916, as Honorary Secretary of the Shakespeare Tercentenary Committee, he also edited ''

A book of homage to Shakespeare A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'', an anthology of responses to Shakespeare from scholars, thinkers and other prominent figures from around the world. He also produced a translation in modern English of the important medieval Christian allegorical poem ''

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

'', which he theorized may have been the work of

Ralph Strode Ralph Strode (fl. 1350 – 1400), English schoolman, was probably a native of the West Midlands. He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, before 1360, and famous as a teacher of logic and philosophy and a writer on educational subjects. He belon ...

. He contributed works to the

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

. Gollancz was knighted in 1919. In 1922 he delivered the British Academy's Shakespeare Lecture. Gollancz died on 23 June 1930, in London and was buried at the

Jewish Cemetery at Willesden The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent, England. It opened in 1873 on a site. It has been described as the " ...

on 26 June. In the year of his death, the British Academy held a memorial lecture in his name, at which they unveiled a bust of Sir Israel. The British Academy awards the Sir Israel Gollancz prize for Early English Studies.

Obituary

References

1864 births 1930 deaths 19th-century British people 20th-century British people Shakespearean scholars People educated at the City of London School English Jews English people of German-Jewish descent Fellows of the British Academy Academics of King's College London Knights Bachelor

Israel Gollancz Sir Israel Gollancz, FBA (13 July 1863 – 23 June 1930) was a scholar of early English literature and of Shakespeare. He was Professor of English Language and Literature at King's College, London, from 1903 to 1930. Gollancz was born 13 July ...

Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery {{UK-academic-bio-stub