A
kohen, Adler was born in
Hanover in present-day Germany. His father, Mordecai (Marcus) Baer Adler, was
Chief Rabbi of the city. He studied classics and modern languages, including English and French, at the
University of Würzburg; his
doctorate in
philosophy was from the
University of Erlangen in 1828. Out of 13 candidates, mainly from Germany, he made the shortlist of four for the post of
Chief Rabbi of the British Empire. The three others were:
Samson Raphael Hirsch,
Benjamin Hirsch Auerbach, and Hirsch Hirschfeld. With 135 communities voting—having one vote each—on 1 December 1844, Adler received 121 votes, Hirschfeld 12, and Hirsch 2. His distant relative
Jacob Adler, who made his acquaintance in the winter of 1883–1884, described him as the "highest religious authority not only of
London Jews but of all
Orthodox Jews throughout the United Kingdom and the
Empire." The first university-educated British Chief Rabbi and the first to undertake regular pastoral tours within the United Kingdom, he was also a founder of the
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty and Better Protection of Children. His period as Chief Rabbi saw the completion of the emancipation of Jews within the United Kingdom, the election (1847) and seating (1858) of
Lionel de Rothschild as the first Jewish member of
parliament;
Nathan Mayer Rothschild's ascent as the first Jewish member of the
House of Lords (1885); and Sir
David Salomons's term as the first Jewish
Lord Mayor of London (1855). Adler was instrumental in bringing together the
United Synagogue, established by an Act of Parliament in 1870. , this remains the largest religious grouping within the British Jewish community and takes its religious authority from the Chief Rabbi. Adler is buried at the US (United Synagogue) cemetery in
Willesden.
Legacy Adler Street, in
London E1, was named after him; the Jewish Institute—a reading room—and two synagogues formerly stood there until the area was destroyed in
The Blitz. His eldest son, Marcus Nathan Adler (1837–1911), was involved in scholarly activities such as writing, editing, and translating. For instance, in 1907, his critical translation of and commentary on
Benjamin of Tudela's medieval manuscript,
The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, was published (see below at "Sources"). Adler's middle son,
Hermann Adler (1839–1911), was also a distinguished rabbi: he was head of a congregation in
Bayswater during his father's lifetime, Adler's assistant from the time Adler's health began to deteriorate in 1879, and his successor as Chief Rabbi. His youngest son,
Elkan Nathan Adler (1861–1946), was an author, lawyer, historian, and collector of Jewish books and manuscripts. Adler was among the first to explore the
Cairo Genizah, bringing over 25,000 manuscript fragments back to England. ==Works==