Julius Conradus Otto - Revision history

Pbarnaby at 12:15, 23 July 2015

2015-07-23T12:15:05Z

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2015-07-23T12:14:11Z

Sources

Pbarnaby: /* Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto */

2015-07-23T12:12:10Z

Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto

Pbarnaby: /* Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto */

2015-07-07T20:42:45Z

Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto

Pbarnaby at 12:51, 17 February 2015

2015-02-17T12:51:04Z

Pbarnaby: /* Creation of the Chair of Hebrew */

2014-11-18T10:05:36Z

Creation of the Chair of Hebrew

Pbarnaby: /* Creation of the Chair of Hebrew */

2014-05-29T09:51:20Z

Creation of the Chair of Hebrew

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2014-05-29T09:50:54Z

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Pbarnaby: Created page with "'''Julius Conradus Otto''' was appointed as Edinburgh University’s first Professor of Hebrew in 1642. == Creation of the Chair of Hebrew == The Chair of Hebrew and Orienta..."

2014-05-29T09:50:36Z

Created page with "'''Julius Conradus Otto''' was appointed as Edinburgh University’s first Professor of Hebrew in 1642. == Creation of the Chair of Hebrew == The Chair of Hebrew and Orienta..."

New page

'''Julius Conradus Otto''' was appointed as Edinburgh University’s first Professor of Hebrew in 1642.

== Creation of the Chair of Hebrew ==

The Chair of Hebrew and Oriental Languages was the second Professorship founded in Edinburgh University after the [[Separation of Roles of Principal and Professor of Divinity|Chair of Divinity]] in 1620. In 1642, [[Alexander Henderson]], the [[Rector]] of Edinburgh University, was the prime mover behind a resolution of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland calling on Scottish universities to seek abroad for able professors. In the same year, Henderson persuaded the Town Council of Edinburgh to introduce the specialized teaching of Hebrew into the University, and to employ a foreign scholar. The Council’s choice fell upon Julius Conradus Otto, ‘a learned Jew’.

== Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto ==

Sources vary considerably concerning Otto’s biographical details. Most historians identify him with the scholar Naphtali Margolioth, born in Vienna in 1562. Margolioth converted to Christianity in 1603, changed his name to Julius Conradus Otto, and became Professor of Hebrew at Altdorf, Germany. He later reverted to Judaism. George F. Black argues, however, that the holder of the Edinburgh Chair was a son of Margolioth, who assumed the same Christian name as his father. It certainly seems unlikely that the University would have called a scholar of Margolioth’s age from abroad. He was succeeded in the Chair by [[David Dickson]] in 1656, but A. Levy’s analysis of Town Council Minutes suggest that Otto may have died in 1649 and the Chair lain vacant for seven years. Otto is the earliest-known person of Jewish origin to have lived in Scotland.

== Sources ==

*George F. Black, 'The Beginnings of the Study of Hebrew in Scotland', in ''Studies in Jewish Bibliography and Related Subjects: In Memory of A. S. Freidus'', ed. Louis Ginzburg (New York: Alexander Kohut Memorial Fund, 1929), pp. 463-78.
in Scotland’
*[[Thomas Craufurd]], ''History of the University of Edinburgh, from 1580 to 1646: To Which is Prefixed the Charter Granted to the College by James VI of Scotland, in 1582'' (Edinburgh: Printed by A. Neill & Co., 1808)
*[[Sir Alexander Grant]], ''The Story of the University of Edinburgh during its First Three Hundred Years'', 2 vols (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1884)
*A. Levy, ''Origins of Scottish Jewry'' (London: The Jewish Historical Society of England, 1958)
[[Category:Academics|Otto, Julius Conradus]]

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Sources vary considerably concerning Otto’s biographical details. Most historians identify him with the scholar Naphtali Margolioth, born in Vienna in 1562. Margolioth converted to Christianity in 1603, changed his name to Julius Conradus Otto, and became Professor of Hebrew at Altdorf, Germany. He later reverted to Judaism. George F. Black (1929) feels, however, that it is unlikely that the University would have called a scholar from Margolioth's age from abroad. He argues that the holder of the Edinburgh Chair was probably son of Margolioth, who assumed the same Christian name as his father. Morris Zamick (1930), conversely, argues that annotations in two MS notebooks held by [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]] (Dc. 5.31, DC. 5.69) strongly support the hypothesis that Otto was the elderly Margolioth.
-Otto was succeeded in the Chair by [[Alexander Dickson]] in 1656, but A. Levy’s analysis of Town Council Minutes suggest that he may have died in 1649 and the Chair lain vacant for seven years. Otto is the earliest-known person of Jewish origin to have lived in Scotland.
+Otto was succeeded in the Chair by [[Alexander Dickson (b. 1628)]] in 1656, but A. Levy’s analysis of Town Council Minutes suggest that he may have died in 1649 and the Chair lain vacant for seven years. Otto is the earliest-known person of Jewish origin to have lived in Scotland.
 == Sources ==

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 == Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto ==
-Sources vary considerably concerning Otto’s biographical details. Most historians identify him with the scholar Naphtali Margolioth, born in Vienna in 1562. Margolioth converted to Christianity in 1603, changed his name to Julius Conradus Otto, and became Professor of Hebrew at Altdorf, Germany. He later reverted to Judaism. George F. Black argues, however, that the holder of the Edinburgh Chair was a son of Margolioth, who assumed the same Christian name as his father. It certainly seems unlikely that the University would have called a scholar of Margolioth’s age from abroad. He was succeeded in the Chair by [[Alexander Dickson]] in 1656, but A. Levy’s analysis of Town Council Minutes suggest that Otto may have died in 1649 and the Chair lain vacant for seven years. Otto is the earliest-known person of Jewish origin to have lived in Scotland.
+Sources vary considerably concerning Otto’s biographical details. Most historians identify him with the scholar Naphtali Margolioth, born in Vienna in 1562. Margolioth converted to Christianity in 1603, changed his name to Julius Conradus Otto, and became Professor of Hebrew at Altdorf, Germany. He later reverted to Judaism. George F. Black (1929) feels, however, that it is unlikely that the University would have called a scholar from Margolioth's age from abroad. He argues that the holder of the Edinburgh Chair was probably son of Margolioth, who assumed the same Christian name as his father. Morris Zamick (1930), conversely, argues that annotations in two MS notebooks held by [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]] (Dc. 5.31, DC. 5.69) strongly support the hypothesis that Otto was the elderly Margolioth.
 == Sources ==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Julius Conradus Otto''' was appointed as Edinburgh University’s first Professor of Hebrew in 1642.
+'''Julius Conradus Otto''' was appointed as Edinburgh University’s first Professor of [[Hebrew]] in 1642.
 == Creation of the Chair of Hebrew ==
-The Chair of Hebrew and Oriental Languages was the second Professorship founded in Edinburgh University after the [[Separation of Roles of Principal and Professor of Divinity, 1620|Chair of Divinity]] in 1620. In 1642, [[Alexander Henderson (c1583–1646)]], the [[Rector]] of Edinburgh University, was the prime mover behind a resolution of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland calling on Scottish universities to seek abroad for able professors. In the same year, Henderson persuaded the Town Council of Edinburgh to introduce the specialized teaching of Hebrew into the University, and to employ a foreign scholar. The Council’s choice fell upon Julius Conradus Otto,  ‘a learned Jew’.
+The Chair of Hebrew and Oriental Languages was the second Professorship founded in Edinburgh University after the [[Separation of Roles of Principal and Professor of Divinity, 1620|Chair of Divinity]] in 1620. In 1642, [[Alexander Henderson (c1583–1646)]], the [[Rector]] of Edinburgh University, was the prime mover behind a resolution of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland calling on Scottish universities to seek abroad for able professors. In the same year, Henderson persuaded the [[Town Council]] of Edinburgh to introduce the specialized teaching of Hebrew into the University, and to employ a foreign scholar. The Council’s choice fell upon Julius Conradus Otto,  ‘a learned Jew’.
 == Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto ==

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 == Creation of the Chair of Hebrew ==
-The Chair of Hebrew and Oriental Languages was the second Professorship founded in Edinburgh University after the [[Separation of Roles of Principal and Professor of Divinity, 1620|Chair of Divinity]] in 1620. In 1642, [[Alexander Henderson]], the [[Rector]] of Edinburgh University, was the prime mover behind a resolution of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland calling on Scottish universities to seek abroad for able professors. In the same year, Henderson persuaded the Town Council of Edinburgh to introduce the specialized teaching of Hebrew into the University, and to employ a foreign scholar. The Council’s choice fell upon Julius Conradus Otto,  ‘a learned Jew’.
+The Chair of Hebrew and Oriental Languages was the second Professorship founded in Edinburgh University after the [[Separation of Roles of Principal and Professor of Divinity, 1620|Chair of Divinity]] in 1620. In 1642, [[Alexander Henderson (c1583–1646)]], the [[Rector]] of Edinburgh University, was the prime mover behind a resolution of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland calling on Scottish universities to seek abroad for able professors. In the same year, Henderson persuaded the Town Council of Edinburgh to introduce the specialized teaching of Hebrew into the University, and to employ a foreign scholar. The Council’s choice fell upon Julius Conradus Otto,  ‘a learned Jew’.
 == Disputed Identity of Julius Conradus Otto ==

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 *[[Sir Alexander Grant]], ''The Story of the University of Edinburgh during its First Three Hundred Years'', 2 vols (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1884)
 *A. Levy, ''Origins of Scottish Jewry'' (London: The Jewish Historical Society of England, 1958)
 [[Category:Academics|Otto, Julius Conradus]]