Philip Abraham (writer)

Philip Abraham (1803 – December 17, 1890) was an English-Jewish writer and educator.

Philip Abraham
Born1803 (1803)
DiedDecember 17, 1890(1890-12-17) (aged 86–87)
London, United Kingdom
Resting placeBalls Pond Road Cemetery
Pen nameP. A.[1]
ChildrenLeonora Braham (daughter)

Biography edit

Philip Abraham was born into a prominent Jewish family affiliated with London's Western Synagogue. In 1849, he assumed the role of Headmaster at the National Hebrew School in Birmingham.[1] After several years he relocated to London, where he worked as a private instructor in languages and Judaic studies, as well as Secretary of the West London Synagogue.[2]

Abraham regularly contributed poetry and articles to the Jewish press, including The Jewish Chronicle.[1][2] Among his publications were The Autobiography of a Jewish Gentleman (1860); Autumn Gatherings, a collection of prose and poetry (London, 1866); and Ha-Nistarot veha-Niglot ('The Secret and Revealed Things'), or Curiosities of Judaism: Facts, Opinions, Anecdotes, and Remarks Relative to the Hebrew Nation (London, 1879).[3]

His daughter, Leonora Braham, was an opera singer and actress famous for originating several of the Gilbert and Sullivan soprano roles.[2]

Selected publications edit

  • The Autobiography of a Jewish Gentleman. London. 1860.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Autumn Gatherings, Being a Collection of Prose and Poetry. London: J. Wertheimer and Co. 1866.
  • Ha-Nistarot veha-Niglot / Curiosities of Judaism: Facts, Opinions, Anecdotes, and Remarks Relative to the Hebrew Nation. London: Wertheimer, Lea and Co. 1879.

References edit

  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainBrumberg, Benuel H. (1901). "Abraham, Philip". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 117.

  1. ^ a b c Pearce, Sarah (2019). "Josephus and the Jewish Chronicle: 1841–1855". In Schatz, Andrea (ed.). Josephus in Modern Jewish Culture. pp. 118–119. doi:10.1163/9789004393097_007. ISBN 978-90-04-39309-7.
  2. ^ a b c Rubinstein, William D.; Jolles, Michael A.; Rubinstein, Hillary L., eds. (2011). "Abraham, Philip (1804–90)". The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6. OCLC 793104984.
  3. ^ Kirk, J. Foster (1891). A Supplement to Allibone's Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. p. 7.