Adam Grant, 42, is a popular science author, and professor at the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania specializing in organizational psychology. Grant was hired by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to serve as an assistant professor of organizational behavior in 2007. After publishing a series of papers in academic…
Barry Asher, 77, is a former professional bowler on the PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) Tour (1966–76). He won his first PBA title at the age of 19 in 1966. Asher averaged 247 on his way to winning the 1971 South Bend (Indiana) Open, setting a new PBA scoring record. In 1976, his final year on…
Robert Shapiro, 81, is a well-known attorney and entrepreneur. He is best known for being the short-term defense lawyer of Erik Menéndez in 1990, and a member of the “Dream Team” of O. J. Simpson’s. He later turned to civil work and co-founded ShoeDazzle, LegalZoom, and RightCounsel.com, appearing in their television commercials. Shapiro has represented…
Wendy Freedman, 66, is a Canadian-American astronomer, best known for her measurement of the Hubble constant [see note below], and as director of the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, and Las Campanas, Chile. She is now the John & Marion Sullivan University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. Her principal research…
Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was a composer, critic, writer, teacher, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the “Dean of American Composers.” The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music are typical of what…
Maurice “Maury” Povich, 84, is a retired American television personality, best known for hosting the tabloid talk show Maury which aired from 1991 to 2022. Povich began his career as a radio reporter, initially at WWDC. In the late 1980s, he gained national fame as the host of tabloid infotainment TV show A Current Affair,…
Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was an artist best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content. Shahn’s social-realist vision informed his approach to art. His examination of the status quo inspired his creative process. Although he…
Famed movie director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg, 77, has announced a new project the USC Shoah Foundation is undertaking: documenting the barbaric attack by Hamas terrorists against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Shoah Foundation (Shoah means Holocaust in Hebrew) was established by Spielberg in 1994, one year after completing his Academy Award-winning Holocaust…
Dr. Yehudah Pryce served over 16 years incarcerated for a non-violent robbery he was arrested for as a teenager. [Ed note: He was a heavily tattooed gang member.] Since his release from prison on October 22, 2018, he finished his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis in social welfare; he graduated with his…
Daniel L. Doctoroff, 65, is an American businessman and former government official. From 2015 to 2021, he served as chief executive officer of Sidewalk Labs, a startup company he helped found that focused on technology for city life. Previously, he was the CEO and president of Bloomberg L.P. Also, he was deputy mayor for economic…
WOW! FACTS
Inventor of the mobile phone, “Father of the Internet,” inventor of the video game cosole, inventor fo the laser, inventor of the gramophone, creator of the Barbie Doll, creator of the cruise ship, “Father of Immunology,” inventor fo the modern condom (!), a prime minister of the U.K., a three-time prime minister of France, a president of Switzerland and the primary financier of the American Revolution?
We knew you could guess… all of them are (or were) Jews!
To learn about these and many more AmazingJews, watch a compilation put together by JewOfTheWeek.net in 2015 and posted on YouTube. >>
Nobel Prizes
Although Jews are less than two-tenths of one percent of the world’s population, more than 20% of Nobel Prize winners have been Jewish. Source: Google
Polio Vaccine
Millions and millions of people worldwide have been spared the ravages of poliomyelitis — including paralysis and even death — thanks to research conducted by Jewish scientist Dr. Jonas Salk and his team. The Salk vaccine entered widespread use in the U.S. in 1955. Source: Wikipedia
Miss Liberty
The words “…give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” on the Statue of Liberty were written by Emma Lazarus, a Jew. Source: BuzzFeed
Blue Jeans
Levi Strauss, an immigrant from Germany, invented his blue jeans in 1873. Source: BuzzFeed
Start-Up Nation
Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world. It has the highest rate of entrepreneurship among women and people over 55 in the world. Source: BuzzFeed