Who was Leon C Simon?

Answer 1

Leon C. Simonwas born in Southampton in 1881 and educated at Manchester Grammar School before studying Greats at Oxford. After graduation in 1904, he entered the British Civil Service and served in the General Post Office until his retirement in 1944 with the rank of Director. After his retirement he was Chairman of the Executive Council of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and was also a member of the University's Board of Governors. He was among the original members of the Zionist Commission to Palestine in 1918; but his main interest was in the cultural aspect of Jewish nationalism, and particularly in the Hebrew revival. A disciple of Ahad Ha-Am since his student days, and a personal friend from 1908 onwards, he published three volumes of translations of Ahad Ha-Am's writings, and was joint author of the Hebrew biography of him published in 1956.