1859 March 2, - 1916 SHOLEM (ALEICHEM) RABINOWITZ (Kiev, Russia)
Famed Yiddish novelist, he wrote in Russian, Yiddish and Hebrew. The characters he created, such as Tevye the Milkman for example, are vivid and memorable. Stempeyu, his first Yiddish novel, helped establish his credentials as the "Yiddish Mark Twain". Sholem Aleichem wrote happy children's tales as well as romances. His pseudonym was originally used to disguise his writings so that his father would not know who wrote them. His father, one of the Maskilim, praised Hebrew and condemned Yiddish.
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