Oliver Louis Zangwill. 29 October 1913 – 12 October 1987

Abstract

Oliver Zangwill was the Disraeli of psychology. He came from a distinguished, unusually interesting family, and was literary with sophisticated political skills. Oliver's father was the influential novelist and dramatist Israel Zangwill (1864–1926), whose writings include Children of the ghetto and The master. Evidently a formidable character, Oliver confessed to me that his father was the only person in his life that he had truly feared. Oliver was 12 when his father died. His mother, born Edith Ayrton, was an early woman doctor (examined for her doctorate by Paul Broca, in Paris), becoming involved in politics and active in the establishment and running of the League of Nations. She spoke Japanese and translated fairy tales.