Raymond Klibansky

Raymond Klibansky (October 15, 1905 – August 5, 2005) was a German-Canadian historian of philosophy and art. Born in Paris, France, he was educated at the University of Kiel, University of Hamburg, and Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, where he received a Ph.D. in 1928. He worked as an assistant at the Heidelberg Academy and lectured in philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. In 1933, he was forced to leave Germany because he was Jewish and moved with his family to Italy, then Brussels, before settling in Oxford, where he lectured at Oriel College. During World War II, he was attached to the Political Warfare Executive. In 1946, Klibansky became the Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at McGill University and also lectured at the Université de Montréal. He served as president of the International Institute of Philosophy from 1966 to 1969. Klibansky was a fellow and later an honorary fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He received significant honors, including being made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1999 and a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2000 for being "one of the greatest intellectuals of our time." He died in Montreal, two months before his hundredth birthday.