Historical Figure
Chaim Weizmann
1874–1952
Israeli statesman and British chemist (1874–1952)
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Biography
Chaim Azriel Weizmann was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the Zionist Organization and later as the first president of Israel. He was elected on 16 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952. Weizmann was instrumental in obtaining the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and convincing the United States government to recognize the newly formed State of Israel in 1948.
In Their Own Words (2)
There is no official anti-Semitism in Russia; anti-Semitism in Russia is a crime against the State.
The Jewish People and Palestine. London: Zionist Organization, 1939. p. 7 , 1939
[I]t is not true–no, it is not true–that we have uprooted the Arabs.We have not uprooted them; we have shown them the way to a better life,and we shall continue to do this until they understand that we have a common interest in reviving the Middle East, and that this task can be achieved only on the basis of a strong Jewish Palestine.
, Weizmann’s address to the 19th Zionist Congress in Lucerne,Switzerland, August 27, 1935, in ibid.:81 , 1935
Timeline
The story of Chaim Weizmann, told in moments.
Developed the ABE fermentation process at the University of Manchester, producing acetone from corn starch. The British Navy needed acetone for cordite propellant. The discovery gave Weizmann access to senior British officials.
Played a central role in securing the Balfour Declaration, in which Britain endorsed "a national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. He'd lobbied British officials for years.
Israel declared independence on May 14. Weizmann convinced U.S. President Truman to recognize the new state within minutes of its proclamation.
Elected the first President of Israel at age 74. His health was already failing. He was nearly blind.
Died at his home in Rehovot. The Sieff Research Institute, which he'd founded, was renamed the Weizmann Institute of Science in his honor.
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