Richard J.H. Gottheil Papers

The Richard Gottheil Papers were received from the Klau Library, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, New York in February and June 1979. The Klau Library, by the act of donating the Richard C. Hertz Papers to the American Jewish Archives, assigned all property rights to the American Jewish Archives. All literary rights to material authored by Richard Gottheil are retained by the Gottheil heirs. Literary rights to material authored by others are retained by the individuals and their heirs. Questions concerning rights should by addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives.

The Richard J.H. Gottheil Papers are open to all researchers. The original manuscript collection is available in the reading room of the Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

Richard James Horatio Gottheil was born in Manchester, England in 1862 to Rabbi Gustav and Rosalie Wollman Gottheil. In 1873, the family emigrated to New York City where Rabbi Gottheil ascended the pulpit at Temple Emanu-El. Richard Gottheil earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1881 and returned to Europe to study at the Universities of Berlin, Tübingen and Leipzig and received a Doctor of Philosophy from Leipzig in 1886. Gottheil later returned to the United States, earning his doctorate from Columbia University in 1929.

Gottheil was appointed chair of Semitic languages and rabbinical literature at Columbia University in 1887 after one year on the faculty as a lecturer. He was trained in Semitics, Judaica, Orientalism and Wissenschaft methodology. In 1897, Gottheil became the director of the Oriental department at the New York Public Library. He would retain both positions until his death.

He inherited from his father a strong commitment to Zionism at a time when it was not popular. He served as the president of the Federation of American Zionists from its inception in 1898 until 1904. Gottheil was vice-president of the Universal Zionist Society. He also served on various committees of the World Zionist Organizations and in 1910 took charge of the American School of Archeology in Jerusalem.

Gottheil was also a noted Syriac studies scholar. He served from 1902-1903 as president of the Society of Biblical Literature. He was a contributor to several encyclopedias and journals and was the editor of the Semitic Study Series (1901-1911) and Columbia University Oriental Series (1901-1936). Individual works include Zionism and The Belmont-Belmonte Family.

Gottheil died in New York City on 23 May 1936. One of his final official acts was to represent Columbia University at the 400th anniversary of the University of Granada, in Spain.

Gottheil married Emma R. Leon, a widow with two sons, in September 1891. They had no children.

The RICHARD J. H. GOTTHEIL PAPERS consist of the papers of Richard Gottheil, an Orientalist and Semitic language professor. Gottheil was a strong supporter of the Zionist movement at a time when it was unpopular within the American Reform movement. He was in close contact with journalist Theodor Herzl about starting the movement in the United States, as is reflected in the correspondence series.

The correspondence series strongly reflects Gottheil’s Zionist activities. There is an early correspondence with Israel Zangwill, with whom Gottheil was to break in 1923 after Zangwill criticized the Zionist movement. There is also an extensive correspondence with Stephen S. Wise about his involvement in Zionist activities and Gottheil’s support in the creation of the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. The personal series includes a series of clippings, writings and material about birthday celebrations and Zionist activities.

The papers span the dates 1886-1937.

SERIES A. CORRESPONDENCE. This series consists of 1 ½ Hollinger boxes. Correspondents of note include Zionist leaders such as Louis Brandeis, Theodor Herzl, Judah Magnes and Stephen Wise. Where correspondents have five or more letters they have been filed in a separate folder. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically with general correspondence followed by individuals. Within folders, correspondence is arranged chronologically. Span dates are 1893-1936.

SERIES B. PERSONAL. This series consists of ½ Hollinger box. It contains a variety of materials such as writings for and about Gottheil, including obituaries and newsclippings There is also Zionist memorabilia. The series is arranged alphabetically by topic. Span dates are 1886-1937.

Box     Folder          Contents

        SERIES A: CORRRESPONDENCE

1	1	A-K, General.
	2	L-Z, General.
	3	Actions Committee Vienna. 1898-1903.
	4	Benjamin, ? 1902-1903.
	5	Brandeis, Louis Dembitz. 1914-1919; 1934.
	6	Hadassah. 1909-1931.
	7	Herzl, Theodor. 1898-1900.
	8	Herzl, Theodor. 1901-1903.
	9	Jusserand, ? 1915-1924; n.d.
	10	Lipsky, Louis. 1898-1922.
	11	Magnes, Judah L. 1915-1917.
	12	Moore, George F. 1889-1906; 1927.
	13	Reich, A.W. 1899-1903.
	14	Rice, Cecil S. 1915-1918.
	15	Straus, Oscar S. 1897-1910.
	16	Universite de Strausbourg.  1917-1921; n.d.

2	1	Wise, Stephen S. 1901-1907.
	2	Wise, Stephen S. 1908-1915.
	3	Wise, Stephen S. 1916-1918.
	4	Wise, Stephen S. 1920-1936; n.d.
	5	Zangwill, Israel. 1898-1917.

	SERIES B: PERSONAL 

2	6	Clippings.
	7	Gottheil, Gustave. Re: biography. 1936.
	8	Gottheil, Richard J.H. 60th birthday. 1922.
	9	Gottheil, Richard J.H. 70th birthday. 1932.
	10	Gottheil, Richard J.H. Writings. 1893; 1933-1935.
	11	Obituaries. 1936.   			
	12	Unidentified. 1896-1934; n.d.
	13	Writings by others. 1931; 1937; n.d.
	14	Zionist memorabilia. n.d.
	15	Personal miscellaneous. 1886-1937; n.d.

A Finding Aid to the

Richard J. H. Gottheil Papers

1886 - 1973. 0.8 Linear ft.

Manuscript Collection No. 127