Husik was born in
Vasseutinez near
Kyiv,
Russian Empire, on 10 February 1876. Because of the worsening climate under the
Russian imperial May Laws, in 1888, when he was 12 years old, he moved with his mother to
Philadelphia. His father, the teacher
Wolf Husik, rejoined them the following year. Isaac received his early instruction from his father and from
Sabato Morais,
rabbi at the
Sephardic congregation
Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, and one of the founders of the
Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). Husik attended JTS while preparing for secular studies, and received direct guidance from Morais, but did not ultimately pursue a rabbinical career. Husik attended
Central High School (Philadelphia), and then enrolled at the
University of Pennsylvania, where he received a master's degree in
mathematics in 1899. Ultimately, however, his interests turned to the study of the classics, especially
Aristotle, and he received his Ph.D. in
philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in 1903. His thesis, entitled ''
Judah Messer Leon's Commentary on the Vetus Logica'', was published in
Leyden in 1906. While still a student at
Penn, Husik accepted an Instructorship in
Hebrew and
Bible at
Gratz College, but simultaneously remained an instructor in philosophy at Penn. He eventually left Gratz, and was appointed full professor of philosophy at Penn in 1922. He taught classes also at
Yeshiva College,
Hebrew Union College, and
Columbia University Summer School. In 1923, Husik was appointed editor of the
Jewish Publication Society of America, in which capacity he served until his death. He additionally served in a wide range of voluntary communal positions, and married
Rose Gorfine late in life. He died suddenly at the age of 63. The philosopher
Leo Strauss called him in his
"Preface to Isaac Husik, Philosophical Essays: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern" (1952): "one of the most distinguished historians of philosophy America had produced". ==Works==