Victor Gollancz, English publisher, founded Victor Gollancz Ltd (d. 1967)
Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian.
Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christian socialist and internationalist. He used his publishing house chiefly to promote pacifist and socialist non-fiction, and also launched the Left Book Club.
In the postwar era, he focused his attention on Germany and became known for his promotion of friendship and reconciliation based on his internationalism and his ethic of brotherly love. He founded the organisation Save Europe Now (SEN) in 1945 to campaign for humane treatment of German civilians, and drew attention to their suffering, especially children, and atrocities committed against German civilians. He received an honorary doctorate at the University of Frankfurt in 1949, the Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz of Germany in 1953 and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1960, and several streets in Germany, including the Gollanczstraße in West Berlin, and two schools, the Victor Gollancz Elementary School and the Victor-Gollancz-Volkshochschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf, were named in his honour. He also campaigned for friendship with Soviet Russia. Gollancz once said: "I hate everything that is pro and anti (different peoples). I am only one thing: I am pro-humanity." Since 2000, the Society for Threatened Peoples has awarded the Victor Gollancz Prize.
1893Apr, 9
Victor Gollancz
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Events on 1893
- 17Jan
Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Lorrin A. Thurston, along with the Citizens' Committee of Public Safety, led the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani. - 22Jul
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates writes America the Beautiful after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado. - 15Aug
Lagos Colony
Ibadan area becomes a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton. - 28Oct
Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique, receives its première performance in St. Petersburg, only nine days before the composer's death. - 28Nov
New Zealand general election, 1893
Women's suffrage in New Zealand concludes with the New Zealand general election, 1893.