Joseph L. Blau

Joseph Leon Blau (May 6, 1909 – December 28, 1986) was an American scholar of Jewish history and philosophy.

Biography

Blau was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Columbia University, where he studied under Salo Wittmayer Baron. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1931, his master's in 1933, and his Ph.D. in 1944, all from Columbia. Blau taught at Columbia from 1944-1977 and was chair of its Department of Religion from 1968-77. He died in Bronx, New York.

His notable writings include "Christian Interpretation of the Cabala in the Renaissance" (1944); "Men and Movements in American Philosophy" (1952); "The Story of Jewish Philosophy" (1962), "The Jews of the United States, 1790–1840" (co-edited with Salo Baron, 1963), and "Judaism in America" (1976).

Blau was one of the signers of A Secular Humanist Declaration in 1980. He was a foreign member of the British Academy.

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DC1E3CF932A35752C0A961948260 New York Times obituary, Jan. 1, 1987]
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/collections/html/4079527.html Index to Joseph L. Blau papers, Columbia University]
* [http://columbia.thefreedictionary.com/Blau,+Joseph+Leon Columbia Encyclopedia entry]