J. Isaacs (1896–1973)

J. (Jacob) Isaacs was born in London, England. He was educated at the Grocers' Company's School, Hackney Downs, and began his career as a civil servant in 1912-1916. During World War I, he held the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery and saw active service in France from 1916 to 1918. In 1919, Isaacs entered Oxford University, where he earned a First Class Honours degree in English. From 1921 to 1924, he was an assistant lecturer in English at University College of North Wales, Bangor, and was later an assistant lecturer in English at King's College, University of London. He was appointed lecturer in English in 1928, a position he held until 1942. That year, he went to the British Mandate of Palestine, where he was appointed the first Montefiore Professor of English at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Isaacs returned to England in 1945, and served as chair of English Language and Literature at Queen Mary College, University of London, from 1952 to 1964. He retired with the title of professor emeritus. Prof. Jacobs was the author of more than 30 books and major articles on the subject of English literature, including works on Joyce, Shakespeare, and Coleridge. He also published Our People: History of the Jews: A Textbook of Jewish History for the School and Home (1957).