Gollancz was born in
Bremen,
Germany, the son of Rabbi Samuel Marcus Gollancz, who led the Hambro Synagogue. He earned his degree at
University College London and started preaching in 1876. As there was no rabbinical training program in England at the time, he went back to Eastern Europe and received his
rabbinic ordination in 1897 from the chief rabbis of
Galicia, insisting thereafter that he be called "Rabbi" rather than "Reverend" and be called to the
Torah with the honorific
HaRav. Gollancz served from 1892 to 1923 as rabbi of the
Bayswater Synagogue and was a Professor of Hebrew at University College London from June 1902 to 1924, after which he served as a professor emeritus. Gollancz produced a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures "for Jewish families, which adhered 'as closely as possible to the excellent Anglican version of the 17th century' (King James Version)" He also translated from Hebrew and Aramaic the
Targum to the
Song of Songs. His autobiography is titled
Personalia, published in 1928. Gollancz was later named minister emeritus of the
United Synagogue and served as president of the
Jewish Historical Society of England in 1905 and 1906. In the 1923
King's Birthday Honours,
King George V conferred a
knighthood upon him "in recognition of his contributions to learning", making him the first rabbi to receive a knighthood. His service to the Jewish community included the creation of numerous synagogues to serve workers at industrial plants, visiting the sick and assisting the poor. He was an advocate for public libraries and helped establish the Mocatta Library at University College, to which he donated thousands of volumes when he concluded his 21 years as Goldschmid Professor of Hebrew. His son, oldest sister and wife all died within a ten-day span in 1929 and his brother died four months before he did. Gollancz was buried at the
Willesden Jewish Cemetery on 19 October, and the funeral was followed later in the day by a memorial service at the Bayswater Synagogue where he had ministered for so many years. ==References==