LEIPZIGER, HENRY M.

LEIPZIGER, HENRY M. (1853–1917), U.S. educator. Leipziger, who was born in Manchester, England, later moved to New York City with his family. Although trained as a lawyer, financial necessity led Leipziger to become a teacher. In 1884 he became principal of the Hebrew Technical Institute whose   purpose was to give manual training to immigrant boys. As a result of doing volunteer work with the newly organized YMHA, the Aguilar Free Library, and the Educational Alliance, Leipziger earned a reputation as an expert in the field of educational extension activities. In 1890 he was appointed assistant superintendent of New York City schools and placed in charge of the Free Lecture Series, an adult education program for working people. Leipziger built up the program by hiring well-known speakers, using stereopticon slides, providing for lectures in foreign languages, and choosing a varied assortment of topics. In 1905, at the height of the program, one and a quarter million people attended more than 3,000 lectures. Leipziger called it the "People's University." He published The Education of the Jews (1890). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: R.L. Frankel, Henry M. Leipziger, Educator and Idealist (1933). (Selma Berrol)