Rabbi Nelson Glueck

Scholar and Archaeologist

Rabbi Nelson Glueck (1900-1971) was a lifelong Cincinnatian, although he spent large portions of his adult life out of the country. He entered Hebrew Union College at age fourteen to begin studying for the rabbinate. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1920, was ordained as a rabbi in 1923, and went to Germany where he earned a Ph.D. in Biblical studies in 1927. Glueck then returned to Cincinnati and began teaching Bible and Biblical Archaeology at Hebrew Union College, continuing in this position for the rest of his life. Glueck became the President of Hebrew Union College in 1947, and helped the college grow and merge with New York's Jewish Institute of Religion. Branches were later established in Los Angeles and Jerusalem. Glueck also worked with the American School of Oriental Research, and served intermittently as director of its Jerusalem school in the 1930s and 1940s. At this time, he was also becoming an internationally acclaimed archaeologist, working mainly in Palestine and Trans-Jordan. He was married to Dr. Helen Iglauer Glueck, and they had one child.