Leo Wiener

author

Leo Wiener

1862–1939

A pioneering linguist and translator, he helped introduce Slavic languages and literatures to American university study. His wide-ranging work also explored Yiddish culture, folklore, and ambitious historical questions that kept readers debating long after his lifetime.

3 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

Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 2 (of 2) : The nineteenth century

Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 2 (of 2) : The nineteenth century

by Leo Wiener

About the author

Born in Białystok in the Russian Empire in 1862, Leo Wiener became an American historian, linguist, author, and translator whose career spanned an extraordinary range of languages and subjects. After studying in Warsaw and Berlin, he emigrated to the United States in 1882 and later built an academic life that reflected his deep interest in language, literature, and cultural history.

In 1896, he began teaching Slavic languages and cultures at Harvard, where he became the first American professor of Slavic literature. He was especially known for bringing Russian and other Slavic traditions to English-speaking readers, including through translations of Leo Tolstoy, and for his scholarship on Yiddish language, folklore, and literature.

Wiener also wrote boldly on broader historical themes, including his book Africa and the Discovery of America, which drew attention for its sweeping claims. He died in 1939, but he remains an important early figure in American Slavic studies and in the study of Yiddish culture.