Salo Wittmayer Baron (1895-1989), an Austrian-born American scholar and educator, was the foremost Jewish historian of the 20th century.

Salo Baron was born in Tarnow, Austria (now Poland), on May 26, 1895. From 1917 to 1923 he earned doctorates in philosophy, political science, and jurisprudence from the University of Vienna and a rabbinical degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary in Vienna. From 1919 to 1926 he lectured at the Juedisches Paedagogium (Jewish Teachers College) in Vienna.

Academic Appointments in the United States

In 1926 Baron traveled to the United States, where he was appointed professor of history and librarian at the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. In 1930 he became the first professor of Jewish history, literature, and institutions on the Miller Foundation at Columbia University, where he served with distinction until retiring in 1963. He was also the first director of Columbia's Center of Israel and Jewish Studies, established in 1950. After 1954 he was...