The Philosopher

Alexander Altmann

The face

The background

Nationality:
Austro-Hungarian, British, American
Schools:
Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary
Branchs:
Jewish philosophy, Jewish mysticism, Medieval Jewish philosophy, history of ideas
Period:
20th century

The synopsis

Alexander Altmann (April 16, 1906 – June 6, 1987) was an Orthodox Jewish scholar and rabbi. Born in Kassa, Austria-Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia), he received his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1931 and was ordained rabbi that same year. From 1931 to 1938, he served as a rabbi and professor of Jewish philosophy in Berlin. Fleeing Nazi Germany, he moved to England in 1938, serving as a rabbi in Manchester until 1959. During this time, he also directed the Institute of Jewish Studies in London. In 1959, he emigrated to the United States and joined Brandeis University as the Philip W. Lown Professor of Jewish Philosophy and History of Ideas, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. Altmann was renowned as the foremost scholar on Moses Mendelssohn and made substantial contributions to the study of Jewish mysticism. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1967. Altmann passed away in Boston, USA, in 1987.

The works