Selig Perlman
| Selig Perlman | |
|---|---|
Selig Perlman
|
|
| Born |
December 9, 1888 Białystok, Poland, (Russian Empire) |
| Died | August 14, 1959 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | American |
| Field | Labor economics, labor history |
| Other notable students | Philip La Follette, Philip Taft |
Selig Perlman (December 9, 1888 – August 14, 1959) was an economist and labor historian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Perlman was born in Białystok in Congress Poland (then part of Russia) in 1888. His father, Mordecai, was a Jewish merchant who supplied yarn and thread to home weavers and was a friend of Maxim Litvinov's father.
Despite having a strong stutter and being extremely shy, Perlman excelled in the "Cheder" (the local Jewish religious school), and won a scholarship to attend a state-owned high school (or "gymnasium"). While in high school, he learned Russian and a number of other European languages, and his teachers introduced him to the work of Georgi Plekhanov. Thereafter, Perlman became an ardent Marxist.
He never joined a political party or radical movement, however, and his advocacy remained more theoretical than practical. Perlman graduated in 1905.
As a Jew, Perlman was largely barred from obtaining a higher education in Russia. So he left for Torino, Italy, to study at the University of Turin. He came down with bronchitis and transferred to the University of Naples Federico II, because Naples had a warmer climate. He studied medicine, learned Italian, joined the General Jewish Labor Union, and spent weekends with other students talking politics, languages, and literature at Maxim Gorky's home (although Gorky was rarely present for these meetings).
...
Wikipedia