Scienceשמואל סמבורסקי

Samuel Sambursky

Samuel Sambursky was a German-born Israeli physicist and historian of science who taught at the Hebrew University and won the Israel Prize in 1968.

1900 to 1990History of ancient Greek scienceFounding Hebrew University physics departmentDirecting the Research Council of Israel

Born: 30 October 1900, Königsberg
Died: 18 May 1990, Jerusalem
Occupation: physicist, historian, historian of science, university teacher
Education: University of Königsberg, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Samuel Sambursky was born in 1900 in Königsberg

Sambursky was born on 30 October 1900 in Königsberg, Germany, the eldest son of Selma and Menachem Sambursky. His parents had come from the Russian Empire, and he grew up in a Zionist home where Hebrew was spoken. His father wrote for the Hebrew paper Hatzefira and headed the local Zionist branch.

In 1917 he began studying mathematics, physics and philosophy in Königsberg and Berlin. In 1923 he completed a doctorate in Königsberg under Theodor Kaluza. In 1924 he moved to the Land of Israel.

He taught at high schools and at the David Yellin teachers college until 1927, and joined the Hebrew University in 1928. He helped found its physics department in 1931 and later its department of history and philosophy of science. He wrote and edited books on the physics and thought of the ancient Greeks and late antiquity.

From 1949 to 1957 he directed the Research Council of Israel. He served on the Atomic Energy Commission but resigned in 1958 over the decision to develop nuclear weapons, and in 1962 helped found a committee for nuclear demilitarization of the Middle East. He died in Jerusalem on 18 May 1990 and was buried at Har HaMenuchot.