STEINSCHNEIDER, Moritz. Prossnitz, Moravia (now Prostějov in Czechia) 30.3.1816 — Berlin 24.1.1907. Moravian Jewish Rabbi, Bibliographer and Semitic Scholar. Son of Jacob Steinschneider (1782–1856), a Talmud scholar, and Hani Zadek-Weizenkern (1792–1859). After school Talmudic studies in Prague (1833-36) and Vienna, now also other Semitic languages. Pressed by anti-Jewish laws of…
SIMON, Ernst Julius Walter (Ximen Xuade). Berlin 10.6.1893 — London 22.2.1981. German Sinologist and Sino-Tibetan Scholar in the U.K. Professor in London. Son of Jewish mathematician Heinrich Simon (1859–1930) and Cläre Abraham (murdered in Ghetto Theresienstadt). Studies of classical and Romance philology in 1911-14 at Berlin, 1915-18 in army. Employed…
SAMPSON, John (“Romano Rai”). Schull, County Cork 25.2.1862 — West Kirkby, Cheshire 9.11.1931. British (Irish) Librarian and Gipsy Scholar. Son of James Sampson (1813–1871?), a chemist and mining engineer from Cornwall, and Sarah Anne MacDermott. His father lost all his money in a bank failure 1871 and the family moved…
ROCA Y LÓPEZ, Pedro.Tarancón (Cuenca) 9.10.1856 — Madrid 21.1.1903. Spanish Librarian. Educated in Cuenca, studies at Madrid. Dr.phil. In Sanskrit student of Gelabert y Gordiola, as librarian of Barcelona University gave first Sanskrit teaching there. From 1889 worked in Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid Publications: Review of Gelabert y Gordiola’s Manual de…
PEARSON, James (Jim) Douglas. Cambridge ?.12.1911 — Cambridge 1.8.1997. British Librarian, Specialist of Asian Books. Of humble origins, grew up in Cambridge and was employed from the age of 16 as bookfetcher in the University Library there. He developed a taste for “exotic languages” and won a scholarship for Hebrew…
OPPERT, Gustav Salomon. Hamburg 30.7.1836 — Berlin 1.3.1908 (or 17.3.). German Indologist in India. Professor in Madras. Son of Eduard Oppert (until 1812 Oppenheimer, 1792–1874) and Henriette Gans (1800–1875), brother of —> Jules Oppert (1825–1905) and Ernst Jacob Oppert (1832–1903) who was a merchant in Shanghai and visited three times…
MŽIK, Hans von. Rzeszów, Galicia (now in Poland) 24.7.1876 — Vienna 4.3.1961. Austrian Historian of Geography. Son of an officer, gymnasium in Troppau (now Czech Opava) Studied at Vienna law, soon Oriental languages, history and geography. Ph.D. 1904. From 1903 worked in Vienna Hofbibliothek (then National Library). PD 1917 Vienna…
MORLEY, William Hook. 1815 — London 21.5.1860. British Oriental Scholar. Son of George Morley, a lawyer. “Educated for the legal profession, called to the bar [from Middle Temple] in 1840. A notable Oriental scholar, well versed in Arabic and Persian literature. Member of the R.A.S. from 1847, Librarian to the…
MEIER, Franz Josef. 1906 — 1987. German Librarian, began his career as Indologist. Librarian in Munich. Ph.D. 1931 München. In 1937-70 librarian at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, after the WW II as director of the Ostasiensammlung. Thus he turned from Indian studies to East Asia. Publications: Diss. publ. as “Der…
LANGLÈS, Louis-Mathieu. Perenne (Welles-Pérennes) near St.Didier (Montdidier, Oise) 23.8.1763 — Paris 28.5.(28.1.?)1824. French Oriental (especially Persian) Scholar. Son of a farmer, Antoine Langlès and Marie Levavasseur, according to his own claim, of local gentry. Joined the army, but was sickly and quitted after the disappointment of being not sent to…