List of British Jews is a list of prominent Jews from the United Kingdom and its predecessor states.
Although the first Jews may have arrived on the island of Great Britain with the Romans, it was not until the Norman Conquest of William the Conqueror in 1066 that organised Jewish communities first appeared in England. These existed until 1290 when the Jewish population of England was expelled by King Edward I of England.
There was never a corresponding expulsion from Scotland. The eminent scholar David Daiches states in his autobiographical Two Worlds: A Scottish born Jewish Childhood that there are grounds for saying that Scotland is the only Immigrant country with no history of state persecution of Jews.
Jews were re-admitted to England and Wales in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell. Slightly more than 200 years later, in 1858 they were emancipated, that is, accepted as full citizens. In the late 19th century, there was mass Jewish immigration to England from Russia due to Russian domestic policy. In the 1930s, the country accepted many refugees from Nazism. The Jewish population peaked at 450,000, but has since declined due to low birth-rate, intermarriage and emigration, mainly of the younger generation to Israel. According to the 2001 census, the current population is around 295,000, most of whom live in London. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021.
Academic figures
Scientists See List of British Jewish scientists, which includes economists.
Historians
David Abulafia, professor of history, University of CambridgeJYB 2005 p218 Geoffrey Alderman, "her father, Geoffrey Alderman, is a columnist for the Jewish Chronicle, and her family are strict Orthodox Jews" Accessed 3 January 2007 historian Richard David Barnett, museum curator and archaeologistJYB 1985 p187 Norman Cohn, historianJYB 2005 p215 Isaac Deutscher, historian Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, historian Samuel FinerOxford Dictionary of National Biography: "He was one of the many children of pre-1914 Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe who were to play such prominent roles in British economic, cultural, and political life." Sir Moses I. Finley,Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed. historian and sociologist Sir Martin Gilbert, historian Martin Goodman Philip Guedalla,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "He was buried in Golders Green Jewish cemetery" biographer Eric Hobsbawm,Martin Beckford, "Jewish group rejects uncritical support of Israel" Telegraph (5 February 2007) historian and Communist theoretician Jonathan Israel, historian Joseph Jacobs, editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia Lisa Jardine, historianThe Times; 11 January 1997; Tony Turnbull: "Born in Oxford, she had moved to Cheltenham at the age of five when her father, the polymath Jacob Bronowski, author of Ascent of Man, took up a research post with the National Coal Board. So it was that this nice little Jewish family moved in to Cleeve Hill, a small village four miles (6 km) from town." Tony Judt, Director of the Erich Maria Remarque Institute at New York University Elie Kedourie,Jewish Year Book 1990 p202 historian and political scientist Otto Kurz, historianJYB 1975 p214 Bernard Lewis, historian David Malcolm Lewis, professor of history, University of OxfordJYB 1995 p193 Hyam Maccoby, professor of history Sir Philip Magnus, 1st Baronet, educationalist and politician Sir Philip Magnus-Allcroft, 2nd Baronet,Encyclopaedia Judaica, art. "Magnus" biographer Shula Marks, expert on African history Arnaldo Momigliano, professor of history, University College LondonJYB 1985 p188 Lewis Bernstein Namier, historian (converted to Anglicanism) Sir Francis Palgrave (born Cohen) (1768–1861), historian Ilan Pappé Israeli born New Historian, author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine and professor at The University of Exeter Sir Michael Postan, historian Cecil Roth, historian and editor of the Encyclopaedia Judaica Simon Schama, historian Leonard Schapiro,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "born in Glasgow of an Anglophile Riga Jewish family" historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian Charles Singer,Encyclopaedia Judaica, art. Historians, list headed "Prominent Jewish General Historians" historian of science Sir Aurel Stein, archeologist Barry Supple, economic historianJewish Year Book, 2005, p. 215 Geza Vermes
Medical
Sir George Alberti, President, Royal College of PhysiciansJewish Chronicle, 14 January 2000, p.14 "Knighthood goes to diabetes pioneer" Asher Asher,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography first Scottish Jewish doctor Henry Cohen, 1st Baron Cohen of Birkenhead,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "born of Jewish parents of Russian origin" President of the Royal Society of Medicine Professor Andrew Eder, dentist, clinical academic, strategic board adviser, and charity trustee Sir Ian Gainsford, dentistJYB 2007 p197, 222 Sir Abraham Goldberg, Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Glasgow, 1923–2007Times obituary, 17 October 2007 Max Hamilton,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "the son of Jewish parents" psychiatrist Roderigo Lopez, New Christian doctor to Queen Elizabeth IConcise Dictionary of National Biography: "Jewish physician" John Henry Marks, former chairman of the British Medical Association Sir Jonathan Miller, physician and theatre director Leslie Turnberg, Baron Turnberg, professor, FMedSci Oliver Zangwill, professor of psychologyJYB 1980 p182
Philosophers Samuel Alexander, professor of philosophy at Manchester, born in Australia, the first Jewish fellow of an Oxbridge college Sir Alfred Ayer, philosopher, populariser of logical positivism (Jewish mother) Sir Isaiah Berlin, political philosopher Max Black, philosopher Gerald Cohen, Oxford professor of philosophy Laurence Jonathan Cohen, Oxford professor of philosophy Ernest Gellner, philosopher social scientist H. L. A. Hart, legal philosopher Brian Klug, Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy, St Benet's Hall, University of Oxford; concepts of race, antisemitism, Islamophobia, Jewish identity Stephan Korner, Bristol professor of philosophy Imre Lakatos,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "the only child of Jacob Márton Lipsitz, a wine merchant, and Márgit Herczfeld, both Hungarian Jews" Hungarian-born philosopher Alexander Piatigorsky, philosopher, Buddhologist, writer Sir Karl Popper, philosopher of science (family became Lutheran) Jonathan Romain, minister of Maidenhead Jewish community and leader of the British reform movement Richard Rudolf Walzer Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher; Jewish grandparents on both sides of the family who had converted to Christianity in the 19th century; he was christened, raised and eventually buried as a Catholic Richard Wollheim
Social scientists
Roy Clive Abraham, linguist Michael Balint, psychoanalyst (converted to Unitarianism) Zygmunt Bauman, sociologist Basil Bernstein, linguist Vernon Bogdanor, professor of politicsJYB 2005 p215, 223 Gerald Cohen, professor of social and political theory Arthur Lumley Davids, linguist and orientalist Norbert Elias,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "Elias, as a Jew, sought refuge first in Paris (1933–5), and then in London (from 1935), eventually becoming a British citizen in 1952" sociologist Herman Finer, political scientist Samuel Finer,Jewish Chronicle obituary, 25 June 1993, p.15 political scientist Sir Moses I. Finley, historian and sociologist Meyer Fortes, anthropologistJYB 1980 p183 Eduard Fraenkel, philologistOxford Dictionary of National Biography: "An unbaptized Jew" Anna Freud, child psychoanalyst Norman Geras, professor of government Morris Ginsberg, sociologist Max Gluckman, anthropologistJYB 1975 p213 Theodor Goldstücker,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "of Jewish parentage" orientalist Jean Gottmann,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "the only child of prosperous Jewish parents" professor of geography, Oxford University Julius Gould, sociologistJYB 2005 p249 David Hirsh, lecturer in sociology Paul Hirst, social theorist (Jewish mother) Marie Jahoda, psychology of discrimination Melanie Klein, child psychoanalyst Geoffrey Lewis Lewis, professor of Turkish Steven Lukes, political scientist Ashley Montagu, anthropologist and humanist Isaac Schapera, anthropologist Edward Ullendorff, linguist
Theologians and Hebraists Isaac Abendana, Hebraist Chimen Abramsky, professor of Hebrew Lionel Barnett,Obituary, Jewish Chronicle, 5 February 1960, p.1 orientalist Abraham Benisch,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "born of Jewish parents" Hebraist and editor of the Jewish Chronicle Immanuel Oscar Menahem Deutsch, Semitic scholar and orientalist Alfred Edersheim,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "born of Jewish parents at Vienna" Bible scholar Philip Ferdinand,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: born in Poland of Jewish parents professor of Hebrew Christian David Ginsburg,born Jewish; see Dictionary of National Biography expert on the Masoretic Text Ridley Haim Herschell,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "born in Prussian Poland of Jewish parents" missionary Marcus Kalisch, Hebraist and Biblical commentator David Levi,Dictionary of National Biography: "Jewish controversialist, born in London in 1740, was son of Mordecai Levi, a member of the London congregation of German and Polish Jews" Jewish scholar David Samuel Margoliouth,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "an academically highly gifted boy of Jewish parentage" orientalist (family converted to Anglicanism) Hugh Montefiore,His own book On Being a Jewish Christian (1998) bishop Adolf Neubauer,"Adolf Neubauer" Jewish Encyclopedia Hebraist Stefan Reif, Cambridge academic Judah Segal, professor of Semitic languages Joseph Wolff, missionary
Others Sidney Greenbaum, Quain Professor of English Language and Literature, University College London 1983–90"if there was anything invariant in his life, it was his strictly observant devotion to orthodox Judaism".
Artists Fine arts Frank Auerbach, painter Edith Birkin, painter David Bomberg, painter Sir Anthony Caro, sculptor Benno Elkan,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "born at Dortmund of Jewish parentage" sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, cited at OUP website sculptor (UK-based) Hannah Frank, artist and sculptor Barnett Freedman,Concise Dictionary of National Biography: "son of East-End Russian Jewish immigrants" artist Lucian Freud, painter Abram GamesOxford Dictionary of National Biography: "As a Jew, Games worked for the Jewish relief unit and for many Jewish and Israeli organizations" Mark Gertler, painter Zoltán Glass, photographer Gluck (Hannah Gluckstein), artist Walter Goodman,Obituary, Jewish Chronicle 30 August 1912, p16 painter Dora Gordine,Delia Gaze Dictionary of Women Artists Routledge Press 1997, artist and sculptor Harrison Marks, photographer Solomon Alexander Hart,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "Hart was an observant Jew." painter Lily Delissa Joseph, painter Anish Kapoor, sculptor (Jewish mother) R. B. Kitaj, US-born painterThe Guardian, 6 February 2002, p6: Letter from Kitaj: "London's four leading Jewish painters, including me"; Listed as a British painter in Hutchinson's Encyclopedia of Britain, 2005 Leon Kossoff, 1926–2019 (The Guardian Leon Kossoff obituary) Jacob Kramer,H. Read, S. Thorndike, and others, Jacob Kramer: a memorial volume (1969) painter Lennie Lee, Young British Artist; mixed media Horatio Joseph Lucas, painter Linda McCartney, photographer Ruth Rix, painter Sir William Rothenstein Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of SnowdonJewish Chronicle, "Lord Snowdon is indeed Jewish ... Snowdon does not need to be any more Jewish. Halachically, the Lubavitcher rebbe was no more haimishe than he is." Isaac Snowman, painter