Leon Kobrin, noted Jewish author and dramatist, died here yesterday at the age of 73. Kobrin, who was a writer on the Freiheit at the time of his death, had served on the staff of the Day for 25 years and had contributed to many other Yiddish publications. He wrote more than 20 plays for the Yiddish stage, and his works have been translated into English, Russian, German and French. He was born in Viteosk, Russia, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1892. He is survived by a widow and three children.
He started writing at the age of 15 in Russian, but upon his arrival in America turned to Yiddish. He created his most famous character, “Yankel Boile,” in a novel published in 1898. Later Yankel appeared in a play and became one of the favorite characters of Jewish literature. During his early years in New York City Kobrin worked as a shirtmaker, cigar maker, and baker, as well as writer.
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.
