Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-20
A NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT.
Successive schoIarshIp Triumphs of
Russian jew in London.

Successive schoIarshIp Triumphs of
Russian jew in LOndon.
"The remarkable capabilities of the Jew
ish race" says the New York Sun. edi-
torially, received the other day a fresh
exempliflcation when Selig Brodetsky, a
Russian Jew of %, the son of a pobr emf
grant from Odessa to East London. was
bracketed with a young Englishman for
the senior wranglership at Cambridge, the
highest academic distinction ~attainable at
an English university. This is Justly
recognized as a remarkable performance
when the fact is borne in mind that the
recipient of the honor could not speak a
word of English when he landed at the age
of 5, and from the start has been handi-
capped by the extreme indulgence Of his
family. In a sense seldom paPalleled he
has been indebted to himself alone for
every step in his upward progress.
I'VE are told that he first began to ac-
quire the rudiments of an education az the
Jewish free school in 1905, which. he left
five years later with a scholarship which
secured for him five years tuition at the
Cowper Street Central Foundation school
In 1902 he was placed first in all London
for the London county council intermediate
scholarship, although he was the youngest
student who at the time presented himself
for examination. His success entitled him
to a five years scholarship at Cowper
street school. and three years later he
passed the Cambridge senior local eX-
animation. obtaining a. prize Of R1O and
another scholarship of $40 annually for
three years. In the same year Q9O5) he
gained the senior Antony Death exhibition,
tenable at one of the two chief English
universities for three years the exhibition
being worth SEQ a year for the purposes
of education and e3O a year for the ex-
penses Of outfit. In August Of the same
year he passed the Board Of Education
honors mathematics examination, winning
the bronze medal for the highest place in
the first division of the first class, besides
securing first class donors in physics at
the intermediate examination for bachelor
of science and the first place in the senior
examination for Cambridge locals, which
carried a prize OF Ella, Soon afterward he
entered Trinity college, Cambridge, holding
at the time the senior Death exhibition al
ready mentioned (eSO, a senior London
county council scholarship of $40 and a
mathematical scholarship OF ESQ, each ten
able for three years, the three collectively
amounting to el9O a year. How he p~rofited
u Ills OBBOl uiAlAiNo ~ am o
is sufficiently attested by his attainment
Of a senior W~rangership. We take it
that when all the conditions and disabilities
arc considered this must be recognized as
one of the most notable achievements ever
credited to a young man in the field Of
science.
1--WE shall follow with interest the future
career of this Jewish Senior Wrangler.
VIII he go into politics and strive to fol-
low in the footsteps of his coreligionist,
Benjamin Disraeli, who never had any such
educational advantages? Will he enter the
bar and emulate the professional triumphs
of Farrer HerschelI, the son OF a Polish
Jew, who, however, was converted to
Christianity and married the daughter OF
an Edinburgh merchant? The religious
tests then applied to undergraduates pre-
vented Farrer Herschell from matricula-
ton at either oxford or Cambridge, but he
obtained a b. A. degree at London uni
versity. After being called to the bar he
became successfully queens counsel, re-
| corder Of Carlisle, solicitor general and
lord high chancellor, a post which he twice
occupied.
o will the first Israelite Senior Wran'
gler devote his remarkable talents for tbs
higher mathematics and for scientific in
vestigation to the field of astronomical oil
physical research? Whatever the choice
that he shall make, we may be tolerably
certain that Selig Brodetsky will be heard
from again"