Grande, Benzion Moiseevich

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GRANDE, BENZION MOISEEVICH

GRANDE, BENZION MOISEEVICH (1891–1974), Russian physician, Orientalist. Grande was born in Lithuania. On the eve of World War i he visited Ereẓ-Israel and the neighboring Arab countries and became interested in the Arabic language and culture. As a student in the medical faculty in Moscow he served as a medic in the Russian army during World War i. In 1918 he graduated as a physician and served in the Red Army. In 1922 he graduated from the Institut of Eastern Sciences and began his career teaching and studying Arabic. He did much to help develop the written languages of the small national groups in Russia, and from 1940 to 1960 held the Arabic chair at Moscow University. He published the results of his research on Semitic languages and after his retirement in 1960 devoted himself to studying the Hebrew language. In 1963 he edited F.L. Shapiro Hebrew-Russian Dictionary.

[Shmuel Spector (2nd ed.)]