M. (Michael) Friedländer

Born in Jutroschin in 1833, Michael Friedländer combined traditional Jewish learning with university study in Berlin and Halle, where he earned a doctorate. After heading a Talmud school in Berlin, he moved to London in 1865 to become principal of Jews' College, a post he held for decades.

His work ranged across teaching, scholarship, and writing. He taught subjects including theology, Talmud, Jewish history, mathematics, and Arabic, and published widely on Jewish thought and literature. Among his best-known achievements are his English translation of Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed, studies of Ibn Ezra, and popular religious works such as The Jewish Religion and Text-Book of the Jewish Religion.

Friedländer retired in 1907 and died in 1910. His reputation rests not only on his own books, but also on the steady influence he had as a teacher and interpreter of Jewish tradition for English-speaking readers.