Cecil Roth has been described as one of the greatest Jewish historians of the 20th Century. As well as being an esteemed historian and educator he was also an expert on Jewish art and Hebrew book publishing. In 1938 he was appointed as Reader in Post-Biblical Jewish Studies at Merton College Oxford, a position that he held until 1964.
Following his retirement from Oxford he became visiting professor at Bar-Ilan University, Israel (1964-65), and also at the City University of New York (1966-69). He was editor of Encyclopedia Judaica from 1965 until his death in 1970. (The Encyclopedia is considered to be the definitive source work on Jewish life, culture, religion and history.)His other works number over 600 items, including histories of the Jews in England (1941) and Italy (1946), A History of the Marranos (3d ed. 1966), The Jews in the Renaissance (1959), Jewish Art (1961), and The Dead Sea Scrolls (1965).
See also:
- Shelomo Alfassa ‘Remembering Cecil Roth on the 35th Anniversary of his Passing‘ written in 2005
- Biographical notes published by RL
