-
Birth
Cyrus H Gordon was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania -
Period: to
Cyrus H Gordon
-
Early Beginnings
Starts learning Hebrew as well as both Greek and Latin -
College and University
Cyrus spent much of his young adult life at the University of Pennsylvania where he got his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. While studying here he also took supplemental courses at Gratz College and Dropsie College where he studied Sanskrit and Old Persian -
6 New Languages
In the summer of 1929, Cyrus decided he wanted to finish learning all remaining European languages that he didn't already know. His plan to accomplish this was to devote 1 hour of every day to each of the six languages he wished to learn. By the end of the 3 month period, he had successfully learned all of the 6 languages and was fluent in all major languages prevalent in Europe at the time. -
Early Work
His early work began in the early 1930s while working under the American School of Oriental Research where he aided archaeologists on journeys to areas such as Jerusalem, Baghdad, Egypt, and the Transjordan regions. -
Short Lived Troubles
During the mid 30s Cyrus had a hard time holding one singular academic position as the great depression raged and academic antisemitism was on the rise. Due to this he worked for several employers such as John Hopkins, Smith College, and the Institute for Advanced Study. -
Albert Einstein
Although the exact date is unknown Cyrus shared an office with Albert Einstein sometime before WWII while he took a short-term position at Princeton University. -
Time in Service
In 1942 Cyrus volunteered for the US Army as a leader for a team of cryptoanalysts that would be used to break codes used to send messages between the Germans and Japanese. His experience in language proved useful as codes were not only sent in German and Japanese but also Arabic, Turkish, and Persian to name a few. He served in many countries such as Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and Iran. While in the Middle East he learned Modern Persian and Visited some Archeological sites. -
Life after the War
Post WWII Cyrus took a full-time position at Dropsie College from 1946-1956 where he published 3 books. -
Academic Peak
After his 10 years at Dropsie, he went to Brandies Univesity where he acted as the head of Mediterranean studies for 18 years. While in this position he aided in many archeological digs and was a leading source for information regarding ancient language. -
Time at NYU
Towards the end of Cyrus's career, he moved to New York University to work as director of the Center for Ebla Research. Here he worked to uncover the history of the aforementioned Ancient Syrian city as well as gave specialized lectures on many subjects relating to Archeology and Ancient Language. -
A Scholar's Odyssey
In 2000 as Cyrus's carer came to an end he wrote an autobiography known as "A Scholar's Odyssey" where he went in-depth on many of the experiences that he had while doing archaeological work. This book would be his last of 23 total published works. -
Personal Life
Cyrus didn't share much of his personal life although he did have five Children ( Three girls and two boys) as well as being married twice. He raised his five children out of a 19th century home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was heavily involved in the life of his children until his passing on March 30 2001.