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TIMELINE: Life of Isaac Mayer Wise
1819 - 1900


1819
   
Isaac Mayer Wise is born in the Bohemian village of Steingrub on March 29, 1819.
   
1825
     
Isaac Mayer Wise moves to Durmaul. Here he attended a Jewish "trivial school" and received personal instruction from his grandfather until 1831.
   
1831
   
Isaac Mayer Wise arrives in Prague.
   
1834
     
Isaac Mayer Wise leaves Prague for the Yeshiva in the Braun area of Bohemia, where he remains for 12 months before returning to Prague.
   
1835
     
Isaac Mayer Wise leaves for the Yeshiva in Goltsch-Jenikau, Bohemia, conducted by Rabbi Aaron Kornfeld, where he remains until 1837.
   
1837
     
An edict from the Imperial government at Vienna declares that no one can become a rabbi in Austria unless they attend the secular Gymnasium and University, causing the Yeshiva to close. Isaac Mayer Wise decides to attend University and returns to Prague t
   
1843
   
Isaac Mayer Wise is inducted as Religionsweiser at Radnitz on October 26, 1843.
   
1844
   
Isaac Mayer Wise marries Theresa Bloch on May 26, 1844.
   
1846
     
Isaac Mayer Wise arrives in New York on July 23, 1846.
   
1846
   
Isaac Mayer Wise meets Max Lilienthal, one of two ordained rabbis in New York City, in August 1846 and is encouraged to seek a position as a rabbi.
   
1846
     
In September 1846, Isaac Mayer Wise visits Albany, New York, where he is offered the position of rabbi at Congregation Beth El. By the end of the month, he and his family have relocated to Albany.
   
1850
     
Members of Congregation Beth El who support Isaac Mayer Wise and his reform beliefs form a new congregation, Anshe Emeth. Wise is rabbi of this new synagogue until 1854.
   
1852
     
In January 1852, Isaac Mayer Wise becomes the second Jew in the United States to open a legislative body with prayer when he officiates as chaplain in the New York State Senate.
   
1853
   
In October 1853, Isaac Mayer Wise is elected to serve as rabbi to Congregation Bene Yeshurun in Cincinnati, Ohio.
   
1854
   
On April 26, 1854, Isaac Mayer Wise arrives in Cincinnati.
   
1854
     
On July 15, 1854, The Israelite is first published, with Isaac Mayer Wise as its editor.
   
1854
   
Isaac Mayer Wises's The History of the Israelitish Nation from Abraham to the Present Time - Derived from Original Sources, Volume One is published.
   
1855
     
Isaac Mayer Wise presides over a conference of rabbis and congregational delegates in Cleveland from October 17-24, 1855.
   
1855
     
Isaac Mayer Wise launches Die Deborah, a German language supplement to The Israelite, in July 1855.
   
1857
   
Minhag Amerika, a prayerbook partially authored by Isaac Mayer Wise and intended to be used by all congregations in the United States, is published.  
 
1861
     
Isaac Mayer Wise's work, The Essence of Judaism, is published in Cincinnati. View The Essence of Judaism
   
1866
   
Isaac Mayer Wise's congregation moved to an ornate house of worship on Plum Street in Cincinnati.
   
1868
     
Isaac Mayer Wise's The Origin of Christianity, and a Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles is published.
   
1872
     
Isaac Mayer Wise publishes Judaism, Its Doctrines and Duties.
   
1873
   
The Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism) is organized at a meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio in July 1873, with an original membership of 27 synagogues.
   
1874
     
Isaac Mayer Wise's wife, Theresa, dies in December 1874.
   
1874
     
Isaac Mayer Wise's The Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth: a Historico-Critical Treatise on the Last Chapter of the Gospel is published.  
 
1874
   
The name of Isaac Mayer Wise's journal The Israelite is changed to The American Israelite in July 1874.
   
1875
   
Hebrew Union College opens at the Mound Street Temple in Cincinnati on October 3, 1875 with Isaac Mayer Wise as president of the faculty.
   
1876
   
Isaac Mayer Wise marries Selma Bondi in April 1876.
   
1876
   
Isaac Mayer Wise publishes The Cosmic God.
   
1877
     
Hebrew Union College moves to the vestry rooms of Plum Street Temple.
   
1880
   
Isaac Mayer Wise's History of the Hebrews' Second Commonwealth is published.
   
1881
     
Hebrew Union College's third location - a large house on West Sixth Street in Cincinnati - is purchased and dedicated on April 24, 1881.
   
1883
   
The first class of Hebrew Union College, Israel Aaron, Henry Berkowitz, Joseph Krauskopf, and David Philipson, graduates in June 1883.
   
1883
     
Isaac Mayer Wise publishes Judaism and Christianity, Their Agreements and Disagreements.
   
1889
   
The Central Conference of American Rabbis begins, with Isaac Mayer Wise serving as its president for the next eleven years.
   
1889
     
Isaac Mayer Wise's work, A Defense of Judaism vs. Proselytizing Christianity, is published.
   
1891
     
Isaac Mayer Wise publishes Pronaos to Holy Writ.
   
1900
   
Isaac Mayer Wise dies on March 26, 1900.