David Diringer (16 June 1900 – 13 February 1975) was a British linguist, palaeographer and writer. He was the author of several well-known books about writing systems.
Diringer was born to Jacob Munzer and Mirl Diringer on 16 June 1900, in Tlumacz – at that time considered part of Austria, later Poland, but now Tlumach, Ukraine.[1] He stayed in Tlumacz through high school but moved to Italy to earn, in 1927, his Doctor of Literature degree from the University of Florence. This was followed, in 1929, by a diploma in ancient history.[2] He was appointed a professor at Florence (1931-1933), his first academic interest being the culture of the Etruscans.[3] He did excavations in Tuscany from 1930 to 1939.[2]
As anti-Jewish policies were put in place in Italy, he moved to England in 1939.[3] His two brothers who remained in Tlumacz were both lost in the holocaust.[4] In England he was at first, as an Italian citizen, interned on the Isle of Man as an "enemy alien." But he was released in November 1940[1] and actually then worked for the British Foreign Office.[2]
After the war, he lectured in Semitic epigraphy at Cambridge University, establishing the Alphabet Museum there.[3] It was while at Cambridge that he published most of his works on writing and writing systems. Three years before his death, he moved the Alphabet Museum to Tel Aviv, where he had a second residence.[2]
When his magnum opus, The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind, was published in 1948, it was greeted with effusive praise. In reviewing the book, Thomas Sebeok enthused: "There are few comprehensive studies on this subject in the English language since Isaac Taylor's fundamental contribution in 1883. But this book does much more than merely fill a gap: it is bound to stand as the most authoritative treatment of the history of alphabetic writing for a long time to come. This is because the book is extraordinarily scholarly and exhaustive. It is, incidentally, also quite exciting to read."[5]William F. Albright had this to say in his review: "This great work ... will certainly displace all other books in its field for some time to come, at least for librarians and general readers. It contains an extraordinary mass of material in over 600 compactly printed pages...."[6]
Diringer died in Cambridge, England, an emeritus professor at Cambridge, on 13 February 1975 and was survived by his wife Elena (nee Cecchini), and daughter Kedma.[2][7]
The following biography appears on the back dust-jacket flap of Writing (1962):
David Diringer, M.A. (Cantab.), D.Litt. (Florence), was educated in Florence, to which University he subsequently returned, first as Lecturer, then as Professor. He has taught [...] in England, on the Continent, in the [US], and elsewhere. He was Secretary at the First International Congress of Etruscan Studies (1928) and at the first three Congresses of Colonial Studies in Italy (1931, 1934, 1937). Since 1948, Dr. Diringer has been Lecturer in Semitic Epigraphy at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of several books, including The Early Hebrew Inscriptions (1934) [and] The Alphabet in the History of Civilization (1937), and of more than 200 contributions to learned journals. Dr. Diringer is the founder and director of the Alphabet Museum at Cambridge.
^Memorial Book of Tlumacz (Tlumach, Ukraine) Translation of Tlumacz-Tlomitsch Sefer Edut-Ve-Zkaron. Edited by: Shlomo Bond et al. Tel Aviv, Tlumacz Society, 1976
^Modern Language Notes, Vol. 64, No. 3 (Mar., 1949), pp. 182-184
^England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
February 15, 2024
david, diringer, june, 1900, february, 1975, british, linguist, palaeographer, writer, author, several, well, known, books, about, writing, systems, born, 1900, june, 1900tlumaczdied13, february, 1975, 1975, aged, cambridge, englandeducationuniversity, florenc. David Diringer 16 June 1900 13 February 1975 was a British linguist palaeographer and writer He was the author of several well known books about writing systems David DiringerBorn 1900 06 16 16 June 1900TlumaczDied13 February 1975 1975 02 13 aged 74 Cambridge EnglandEducationUniversity of FlorenceUniversity of CambridgeOccupationsLinguistpalaeographerwriterBiography editDiringer was born to Jacob Munzer and Mirl Diringer on 16 June 1900 in Tlumacz at that time considered part of Austria later Poland but now Tlumach Ukraine 1 He stayed in Tlumacz through high school but moved to Italy to earn in 1927 his Doctor of Literature degree from the University of Florence This was followed in 1929 by a diploma in ancient history 2 He was appointed a professor at Florence 1931 1933 his first academic interest being the culture of the Etruscans 3 He did excavations in Tuscany from 1930 to 1939 2 As anti Jewish policies were put in place in Italy he moved to England in 1939 3 His two brothers who remained in Tlumacz were both lost in the holocaust 4 In England he was at first as an Italian citizen interned on the Isle of Man as an enemy alien But he was released in November 1940 1 and actually then worked for the British Foreign Office 2 After the war he lectured in Semitic epigraphy at Cambridge University establishing the Alphabet Museum there 3 It was while at Cambridge that he published most of his works on writing and writing systems Three years before his death he moved the Alphabet Museum to Tel Aviv where he had a second residence 2 When his magnum opus The Alphabet A Key to the History of Mankind was published in 1948 it was greeted with effusive praise In reviewing the book Thomas Sebeok enthused There are few comprehensive studies on this subject in the English language since Isaac Taylor s fundamental contribution in 1883 But this book does much more than merely fill a gap it is bound to stand as the most authoritative treatment of the history of alphabetic writing for a long time to come This is because the book is extraordinarily scholarly and exhaustive It is incidentally also quite exciting to read 5 William F Albright had this to say in his review This great work will certainly displace all other books in its field for some time to come at least for librarians and general readers It contains an extraordinary mass of material in over 600 compactly printed pages 6 Diringer died in Cambridge England an emeritus professor at Cambridge on 13 February 1975 and was survived by his wife Elena nee Cecchini and daughter Kedma 2 7 The following biography appears on the back dust jacket flap of Writing 1962 David Diringer M A Cantab D Litt Florence was educated in Florence to which University he subsequently returned first as Lecturer then as Professor He has taught in England on the Continent in the US and elsewhere He was Secretary at the First International Congress of Etruscan Studies 1928 and at the first three Congresses of Colonial Studies in Italy 1931 1934 1937 Since 1948 Dr Diringer has been Lecturer in Semitic Epigraphy at the University of Cambridge He is the author of several books including The Early Hebrew Inscriptions 1934 and The Alphabet in the History of Civilization 1937 and of more than 200 contributions to learned journals Dr Diringer is the founder and director of the Alphabet Museum at Cambridge Bibliography editThe Alphabet A Key to the History of Mankind ISBN 81 215 0748 0 History of the Alphabet 1977 ISBN 0 905418 12 3 The Book Before Printing Ancient Medieval and Oriental New York Dover Publications 1982 ISBN 0 486 24243 9 The Alphabet ISBN 0 09 067642 4 The Illuminated Book ISBN 0 571 08077 4 Writing Its Origins and Early History 1962 New York Praeger Volume 25 in the series Ancient Peoples and Places The Story of the Aleph Beth 1958 The Hand produced Book New York Philosophical Library 1953 References edit a b HO 396 WW2 Internees Aliens Index Cards 1939 1947 The National Archives Kew London England a b c d e David Diringer 74 Epigraphy Expert The New York Times 15 February 1975 p 32 Retrieved 14 March 2022 a b c Diringer David Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd Edition Volume 5 Ktav Publishing p 675 2007 Memorial Book of Tlumacz Tlumach Ukraine Translation of Tlumacz Tlomitsch Sefer Edut Ve Zkaron Edited by Shlomo Bond et al Tel Aviv Tlumacz Society 1976 The Scientific Monthly Vol 68 No 1 Jan 1949 p 67 Modern Language Notes Vol 64 No 3 Mar 1949 pp 182 184 England amp Wales National Probate Calendar Index of Wills and Administrations 1858 1995 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Diringer amp oldid 1133134227, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
