author
Max Radin
1880–1950
A sharp-minded legal historian and classicist, this Polish-born American scholar brought ancient law and modern legal thinking into conversation. His writing ranges from Roman law and Jewish history to essays and fiction, showing an unusually wide curiosity.
1 Audiobook
The Jews among the Greeks and Romans
by Max Radin
About the author
Born in Kempen, in what was then Russian Poland, on March 29, 1880, he came to the United States as a small child and grew up in a deeply learned household led by his father, Rabbi Adolph Moses Radin. Early training in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin helped shape the broad intellectual range that marked his later work.
He became an American legal scholar, philologist, and author, and is especially associated with the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught law for many years. He was known for his work in legal history and Roman law, but his interests reached much further, including classical literature and Jewish studies.
His books and essays reflect that wide reach. Alongside legal scholarship, he wrote works such as The Jews among the Greeks and Romans and even ventured into fiction. He died in Berkeley, California, on June 22, 1950, leaving behind a reputation for learning, clarity, and range.