Gollancz, Israel, Sir, 1863-1930

Sir Israel Gollancz was born in 1863. Educated at Cambridge, he later taught English at the university. In 1892, he was elected Quain lecturer at University College London. He was appointed the first lecturer in English at Cambridge in 1896, and held the position for a decade, but remained committed to London, where he was appointed to the chair of English at King's College in 1903. He retained the latter post until his death.

Gollancz was an editor and publisher of classic works of early English literature. Among the works that he edited were Pearl and other early English poems and the Shakespeare Library series. Additionally, Gollancz directed the Early English Text Society and was president of the Philological Society, chairman of the Shakespeare Association, secretary of the Shakespeare Tercentenary Committee, and secretary of the British Academy, which he also helped found. Gollancz was knighted in 1919 in recognition of his work. He later played a key role in providing books to the library of the Imperial University in Tokyo when it was refounded after its destruction in 1923. Gollancz died in 1930.