Leo Wiener

Leo Wiener
Born(1862-07-27)27 July 1862
Died13 December 1939(1939-12-13) (aged 77)
Belmont, Massachusetts, United States
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Warsaw
Friedrich Wilhelm University
Known forbecame the first American professor of Slavic literature; translated 24 volumes of Leo Tolstoy's works into English
SpouseBertha Kahn
ChildrenNorbert Wiener (son)
Scientific career
Fieldshistory, linguistics
InstitutionsUniversity of Kansas (1892–95)
Harvard University (1895–1930)
Notable studentsGeorge Rapall Noyes

Leo Wiener (27 July 1862 – 13 December 1939) was an American historian, linguist, author and translator. He is best known for his historical works on slavic languages as well as his works on Yiddish culture. Furthermore, he is well known for his books "The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century" (1889), "Africa and the Discovery of America" (1922), and "Mayan and Mexican Origins" (1926). His complete edition of Tolstoy's works provided a very literal translation of the text from Russian. While his edition holds value, his translations of Tolstoy's most popular novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina were largely overshadowed by Constance Garnett and Aylmer Maude.