Abram L. Sachar

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Abram Leon Sachar (1899 - 1993) was an American historian and university president. Born in New York City, his immigrant family moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1906 and (after a year at Harvard) he earned his AB and AM at Washington University.

He went to England to do his research on the Victorian House of Lords and gained his PhD at Cambridge University in 1923. He then taught history at the University of Illinois from 1923 to 1948. He also was one of the organizers of the B'nai Brith Hillel Foundation and helped establish Hillel Houses for Jewish students on the campuses of many American universities.

When the American Jewish community decided to start a Jewish-sponsored, nonsectarian university, he was chosen as the first president of Brandeis University, and during his tenure from 1948 to 1968 he effectively built it from the ground-up into a first-class, internationally recognized teaching and research institution, by exercising his abilities as an educator, visionary, and fundraiser.

On his retirement he became chancellor of Brandeis University. During his long career he served on numerous committees and boards, was the recipient of many honors, and published a number of books, including A History of the Jews (1929; 5th edn 1965) and The Course of Our Times (1972).

He was the father of historian Howard M. Sachar.

He once quoted: "The Arabs never fully understood how powerful a weapon desperation could be" referring to the birth of the state of Israel.

[edit] Works

  • A History of the Jews. (1938; revised 1965)
  • Sufferance is the Badge. (1939)
  • The Course of Our Times. (1972)
  • A Host at Last. (1979)