Leo Wiener

author

Leo Wiener

1862–1939

A gifted linguist and translator, this pioneering Harvard scholar helped open Slavic literature to American readers and wrote across an astonishing range of subjects. His life stretched from the Russian Empire to the heart of American academia, bringing a deeply international perspective to everything he did.

2 Audiobooks

The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century

The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century

by Leo Wiener

Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 1 (of 2) : From the tenth century to the close of the eighteenth century

Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 1 (of 2) : From the tenth century to the close of the eighteenth century

by Leo Wiener

About the author

Born in 1862 in Białystok, then part of the Russian Empire, Leo Wiener became an American linguist, translator, and literary scholar whose work crossed many languages and cultures. After emigrating to the United States, he built a remarkable academic career and became associated with Harvard, where he is widely noted as the first American professor of Slavic literature.

Wiener was known for introducing and interpreting Russian and other Slavic writers for English-speaking audiences. He also wrote broadly beyond literature, publishing studies in history and culture as well as major works of translation and criticism. That range made him an unusually wide-ranging figure even by the standards of his time.

He died in 1939, leaving behind a body of work that reflects intense curiosity, serious scholarship, and a belief that languages can connect distant worlds. He is also remembered as the father of Norbert Wiener, the mathematician who later became famous for founding cybernetics.