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Samuel, Sydney Montagu

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

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English author and communal worker; born in London June 21, 1848; died June, 1884; educated at University College, London. For upward of fifteen years Samuel threw himself into communal work with much zeal and earnestness. In 1878 he became honorary secretary to the Board of Guardians, and wrote its annual reports from 1878 to 1882. He held a similar office in the Jewish Association for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge, and assisted in establishing the Jewish Working Men's Club. In 1879 he journeyed to the East, and made investigations into the moral and physical condition of the Jews in the Holy Land and in other parts of the Orient. The result was embodied in his "Jewish Life in the East." He contributed also to the general press, and wrote some very graceful verses.

Samuel displayed much activity in theatrical matters, was a ready adapter of plays, and wrote the English libretto of "Piccolino," produced at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1879. A comedy by him entitled "A Quiet Pipe" was produced at the Folly Theatre in 1880. In collaboration, he translated Victor Hugo's "La Lyre et la Harpe" into English verse for a cantata by Saint-Saëns, produced at the Birmingham Musical Festival in 1879.

Samuel was a broker of the city of London, and was engaged in the banking establishment of his relatives, Samuel Montagu & Co. An authority on finance, he contributed to the "Examiner"; and wrote for the "Times" an annual survey of the course of exchange. His health broke down under the strain of his multifarious exertions.