Elim Henry d'Avigdor

Jewish Chronicle? 1895

Elim Henry d'Avigdor (1841-1895), born in Provence ... died in London ... engineer and communal worker, was the eldest son of Count Salamon Henri d'Avigdor (a friend of Napoleon III, from whom he received his title, and son of the d'Avigdor who was a member of the Great Sanhedrin assembled by Napoleon Bonaparte in Paris in 1807) and of Rachel, second daughter of Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid.

Elim d'Avigdor was educated at University College, London, and the University of London (BA, 1861), where he won the German prize. Having been articled to the engineer Hawkshaw, d'Avigdor in 1862 went first to Hull, then to Rangoon (Burma) in connection with his professional work. He supervised the construction of railways in Syria and in Transylvania, and of water-works in Vienna. He became a director of the New Zealand Midland Railway Company.

He was a member of the West London Synagogue, and later of the Bevis Marks Synagogue.

Active in the AJA, he was a founder and enthusiastic leader of the Chovevei Zion movement in Britain, designing its banner and framing the rules of its central committee.

It was d'Avigdor's railway experience added to his interest in Palestine as chief of the Chovevi Zion Association which led him to contract in railway work in Syria and to form the Tyrian Construction Company.

Gaining some experience in literary work in connection with "Vanity Fair," he bought the "Examiner." He subsequently brought out a paper called the "Yachting Gazette." Under the pseudonym of "Wanderer," d'Avigdor published hunting stories of merit, being himself rider to hounds. D'Avigdor was a warden of the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, and served on several committees. He was chief of the Chovevei Zion Association, in which movement he took the keenest interest; joining this in 1891 he helped to consolidate it, and was instrumental in bringing it into connection with similar associations on the Continent. He was a member of the council of the Anglo-Jewish Association from 1871 until his death.

He married a daughter of Bethel Jacobs of Hull, by whom he had one son and five daughters. The son, Osmond d'Avigdor Goldsmid, inherited the Goldsmid estates on the death of Sir Julian Goldsmid.

His daughter Sylvie D'Avigdor (Mrs C B Clapcott; 1873-10 June 1954), translated into English Der Judenstaat (1896), as well as many of Herzl's speeches. Her sister Bernice D'Avigdor (1884-28 August 1941), who became Chairman of the Old Roedeanians' Council, was in charge of all London's ambulance drivers from the WRNS during the First World War; afterwards she headed the Sea Rangers, and worked tirelessly on behalf of refugees from Nazism.

more on Elim d'Avigdor the Author

Author: Elim Henry D'Avigdor (1841–1895)

Alternate Name(s): Wanderer (pseudonym) Biography: Elim Henry D'Avigdor was born in 1841 in Nice, France, the eldest son of the Franco-Jewish Count Solomon Henry D'Avigdor (1815–1871) and the English heiress Rachel Goldsmid. His parents separated during his childhood and he moved with his mother to London. D'Avigdor worked as a civil engineer. In 1866, he married Henriette Jacobs and the couple had five children. In the 1880s, he turned to fiction and wrote six novels with sporting themes (notably hunting) under the pseudonymm "Wanderer." In addition, he wrote a travel book, Notes on the Caucasus (1883). He died in 1895 in London. References: British Census (1881, 1891); Times (11 February 1895) Titles: 1. Across Country. 1 vol. London: Bradbury, Agnew and Co., 1882. 2. Fair Diana. 1 vol. London: Bradbury, Agnew and Co., 1884. 3. Glamour: A Novel. 3 vol. London: Sonnenschein, 1885. 4. Hunt-Room Stories and Yachting Yarns. 1 vol. London: Ward, Lock, 1885. 5. A Loose Rein. 1 vol. London: Bradbury, Agnew and Co., 1887. 6. Lady Hetty: A Story of To-day. 1 vol. London: "Vanity Fair" Office, 1896.