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1772 - 1837 CHARLES FOURIER (France)
Catholic anti-Semite; he vented his hatred for the Jews at every available moment.
1772 FRANKFURT (Germany)
Rabbi Pinhas Halevi Horowitz was appointed Rabbi in Frankfurt despite his Hasidic leanings. He held the position until his death in 1805.
1772 - 1811 (18 Tishrei 5571) NAHMAN BRATSLAVER - Reb Nahman of Bratslav (Medzhybozhi, Podolia)
The great-grandson of the Besht (the Baal Shem Tov). A controversial figure in Hasidic life, he strongly believed in the principle of the Tzaddik (holy person) and the importance of both pilgrimages and even confessions to the Tzaddik. His teachings were written down in a number of volumes including Likkutei Moharan and Likkutei Moharan Tinyana. He also developed the rich Hasidic folklore which was published as Sippurei Ma'asiyyot. Reb Nachman traveled to Eretz Israel but had to leave soon after Napoleon's invasion. He distrusted scholars and physicians, believing in instinct rather than knowledge.
1772 - 1824 DAVID RICARDO (England)
Founded Political Economy as a science. His chief work was Principles of Politics and Taxation. Ricardo's theories provided the scientific basis for the rule of free trade.
1772 - 1795 POLAND WAS PARTITIONED
This was the first of three partitions (1772, 1794, 1795). The Ukraine went to Russia, Galicia to Austria (whose Jewish population now doubled), and Lithuania to Prussia. Thus Catherine II inherited many of the same Jews she was trying to be rid of. Each monarch made an effort to integrate and assimilate its Jews into the "State of Order" and central administration, thus abolishing self-rule for the most part.
1774 December 19, FRANCIS SALVADOR (USA)
Was elected to the first Provincial Congress of South Carolina which became the General Assembly in 1776 making him the first Jew to hold a State office. He was killed in August 1776 while fighting against British supported Cherokee Indians.
1775 - 1816 SAMUEL (Dutch Sam) ELIAS
Boxing champion and originator of the "uppercut". Though famous throughout his career, he died a pauper plagued with boxing-derived illnesses.
1775 - 1854 JUDAH TOURO (USA)
Merchant-philanthropist. Judah Touro moved to New Orleans at the age of 22 and became a successful trader. He enlisted in the War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson and was wounded in the defense of New Orleans. Touro never married but left large funds (estimated $500,000) for various philanthropic purposes. Some of them included completing the Bunker Hill monument, enclosing the Jewish Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island, and numerous almshouses and Jewish congregations in New Orleans and other cities. His funds joined with Montefiore's to help build the first housing complex outside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, Mishkenot Shananim.
1775 April 5, POPE PIUS VI (1775-98)
Partly in reaction to success of the reformation, he issued the Editto Sopra Gli Ebrei. The proclamation of Pope Pius VI reinstated all former anti-Jewish legislation. The 44 clauses included prohibitions against possessing talmudic writings and erection of grave stones. They also forbade Jews from passing the night outside the ghetto under pain of death. The regulations were in effect until the arrival of Napoleon's army 25 years later.
1775 September 28, STOCKHOLM (Sweden)
Aaron Isaac, a gem carver, became the first Jew to be granted the right of residence in Sweden. Within 3 years he was joined by 40 families.
1776 May 31, MANTUA (Italy)
Because Jews were not allowed to expand their housing outside the ghetto, they were forced to build vertically. Many times accidents occurred from weakened structures. On this occasion, two weddings held in the same house caused it to collapse. Twenty-eight women (including one of the brides) and three men were killed.
1776 July 4, DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
This document provided the basis for religious tolerance in most other countries. While there were less than 2,500 Jews within the colonies, approximately 600 Jews participated in the revolution including 24 officers and the great-grandfather of Supreme Court Justice Cardozo. Isaac Franks, David Salisbury Franks and Solomon Bush all attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. One company in South Carolina had so many Jews that it was called the "Jews Company".
1776 August 1, FRANCIS SALVADOR (USA)
Became the first Jew to die in the American Revolution at the age of 29. His exploits as an officer earned him the title of the "Paul Revere of the South." He lead an army of 330 men defending the frontier settlers against the Cherokee Indians, who had been incited by the British.
1777 - 1836 NATHAN MEYER ROTHSCHILD (Germany-England)
Famous for his Waterloo scoop in which he used carrier pigeons between England and Belgium to gain knowledge of the victory before anyone else. He expanded his father's bank into a world-wide firm.
1778 JUEDISCHE FREISCHULE "Jewish Free School" (Germany)
Was established by Isaac Daniel Itzig and his brother in law, David Friedlaender. The school, which omitted Talmud and limited Hebrew studies, concentrated on math, German, French, and commercial courses. After 1806, non-Jewish students were accepted, and they soon became one-third of the student body. (Since Juedische Freischule was the the first Haskalah school established, many use this date to mark the beginning of the Haskalah (Enlightenment) Movement, whose initial aim was to "modernize" Judaism by opening it to European culture and specifically to a philosophy of rationality which was spreading throughout Europe. Jews were encouraged to adopt the manners, dress, and language of their host country. In the beginning there were Orthodox leaders who supported some of the educational aims of the movement. When it became apparent that the movement was leading to an anti-halachic and assimilationist direction, the Orthodox establishment banned the movement, and established its own educational response to it through Samson Rafael Hirsch and others.
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