Elias J. Bickerman (1897-1981), scholar

Elias Joseph Bickerman (1897-1981) was a Jewish scholar. Elias Joseph Bickermann was born on July 1, 1897 in Kischinau, Moldavia. Shortly afterward, his family moved to Odessa. The pupil of Michael Rostovtzeff at the University of St. Petersburg, Bickerman served in 1916-1921 in the Russian army. From 1922 to 1926 he studied at the University of Berlin where he received his PhD. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Bickerman settled in Paris, France. After the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, Bickerman fled to Marseilles and eventually emigrated to New York. In the United Stated he taught first at the New School for Social Research and then, in 1946, became a research fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Then he briefly taught in Los Angeles at the University of Judaism and from 1952 to 1967 at Columbia University. After his retirement he taught again at the Jewish Theological Seminary. The focus of Bickerman's research was Jewish history in Hellenistic times and first of all, the history of the Maccabees. In 1976 Bickermann was awarded the Dr.-Leopold-Lucas-Prize. Bickerman died on August 31, 1981 in Tel Aviv, Israel and was buried in Jerusalem.