Samuel Joseph Fuenn

Fuenn was born in Vilna, Russian Empire, the son of merchant and Torah scholar Yitsḥak Aizik Fuenn of Grodno.[8] Though he received a traditional religious education until the age of 17,[4] he also acquired an extensive general knowledge of German literature and other secular subjects, and became proficient in Russian, French, Latin, Polish, and English.[5] He afterwards joined Vilna's circle of young maskilim.[9]

In 1848 the government appointed him teacher of Hebrew and Jewish history in the newly founded rabbinical school of Vilna.[10] Fuenn filled this position with great distinction till 1856, when he resigned. The government then appointed him superintendent of the Jewish public schools in the district of Vilna,[11] in which he introduced instruction in secular studies and modern languages.[1] Since Fuenn (Russian финѣ) was employed in the Russian civil service, there was a special feature for him as a Jew, he had to legally sign in Russian according to the applicable Russian laws. Excerpt from the text of the law § 6 The Jew of the Russian Empire in translation: "The use of the Jewish language is not permitted in legal transactions. However, Hebrew home wills are permissible. If a Jew who does not speak any language other than Jewish, a document written or signed in Hebrew must be accompanied by a translation and the signature duly notarized.[12][13]

He was a prolific writer, devoting his activity mainly to the fields of history and literature.[1] With Eliezer Lipman Hurwitz he edited the short-lived Hebrew periodical Pirḥe tzafon ('Northern Flowers', 1841–43), a review of history, literature, and exegesis.[14] For twenty-one years (1860–81), he directed the paper Ha-Karmel ('The Carmel'; at first a weekly, but from 1871 a monthly), devoted to Hebrew literature and Jewish life, with supplements in Russian and German.[15] The paper contained many academic articles by the leading Jewish scholars of Europe, besides numerous contributions from Fuenn's own pen,[11] including a serialized autobiography entitled Dor ve-dorshav.[16] He opened a new Hebrew printing press in Vilna in 1863.[17]

Besides his scholarly work, Fuenn owned some property in Vilna, including a bathhouse on Zarechye Street.[18] He took an active part in the administration of the city and in its charitable institutions, and was for many years an alderman.[1] In acknowledgment of his services the government awarded him two medals.[5] He also presided over the third Ḥovevei Zion conference in Vilna, at which he, Samuel Mohilever, and Asher Ginzberg were chosen to direct the affairs of the delegate societies.[19]

Fuenn died in Vilna on 11 January 1891. He bequeathed his entire estate to his son, Dr. Benjamin Fuenn, his daughter having converted to Catholicism some years earlier.[18] After Benjamin's death, Fuenn's extensive library was added to the collection of the Strashun Library.[20]

Fuenn was married off by his parents at a young age. His first wife died in 1845 while their daughter was still a baby, and his second wife died in the 1848 cholera pandemic, shortly after giving birth to their son Benjamin. He married a third wife in 1851.[7]

His niece was the Labour Zionist politician Manya Shochat.[21]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samuel Joseph Fuenn.

• Works by Fuenn at the Ben-Yehuda Project

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rosenthal, Herman; Broydé, Isaac (1903). "Fuenn, Samuel Joseph". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 526.