November 27: Chaim Weizmann

A scientist who became the first president of the modern state of Israel in 1949, Chaim Weizmann was born in Motol, Russia on this date in 1874. Weizmann studied biochemistry in Germany and Switzerland, where he became active in the early Zionist movement. He became a British citizen in 1910, and gained fame for discovering how to use bacterial fermentation to produce acetone and other industrial materials, some of which proved to be critical to the Allied nations in World War I. Weizmann’s discoveries gave him wealth and political influence, which he parleyed into British support for Zionism, in particular helping to cultivate the good will of Arthur Balfour to obtain the Balfour Declaration. Weizmann twice served as president of the World Zionist Organization (1920–31, 1935–46), and was a key player in the establishment of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), as well as the Weizmann Institute, a driving force behind Israel’s scientific prowess. After World War II, Weizmann lobbied indefatigably for the UN Partition Plan and for U.S. recognition of the new state of Israel. He died in office in 1952.
“Miracles sometimes occur, but one has to work terribly hard for them.” —Chaim Weizmann