Writer and philanthropist. Born in Ebenezer Square, Whitechapel. He became deeply involved with the Zionist cause, and travelled widely; speaking and writing on its behalf. His works earned him the nickname 'The Dickens of the Ghetto'. His play 'The Melting Pot' was hugely popular in the United States and its title became synonymous in describing the American absorption of immigrants. Died at the Oakhurst Nursing Home in Midhurst, Sussex.
Zangwill helped found a group of like-minded Anglo-Jewish intellectuals, called the ‘Wanderers of Kilburn’ and it was at one of these meetings, at his home in Kilburn, that he met Theodor Herzl, known as the father of modern political Zionism, and through him became a Zionist. Cemetery Scribes records "The 1891 Census shows the family {his parents and their children} at 24 Oxford Road, Willesden".
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
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