Emil Ludwig, world-famous Jewish biographer of many prominent world figures, died in his sleep here, it was reported over the week-end. He was 67 years of age.
Born in Germany, he became a citizen of Switzerland following the rise of Nazism. His biographical works on Christ, Lincoln, Kaiser William II, Goethe Bismarck and Beethoven, besides many others, were burned by the Nazis. He was a prolific writer, not only with biographical studies of famous personalities but also was the author of plays and political essays.
He was active in a number of Jewish causes. He attended the Universities of Breslau and Heidelberg, receiving his law degree from the latter institution. His main interest as a lawyer was social welfare, but he soon turned to writing on the lives of Napoleon, Hindenburg, Masaryk, Cleopatra, F.D. Roosevelt, Stalin, Sigmund Freud and numerous others.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
