David Simonsen

David Jacob Simonsen (Hebrew: דוד יעקב סימונסן; 17 March 1853 – 15 June 1932) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He studied Oriental languages at the University of Copenhagen, and received his rabbinical training at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau, one of the centers for "Wissenschaft des Judentums", a movement advocating the scientific study of Jewish history, literature, and culture in addition to the classical sources of Judaism.

David Simonsen
Title	Chief Rabbi of Denmark
Personal
Born	(1853-03-17)17 March 1853 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	15 June 1932(1932-06-15) (aged 79) Copenhagen, Denmark
Religion	Judaism
Spouse	Cora Salomon
Jewish leader
Predecessor	Abraham Wolff (1891) Mordecai Schornstein (1919)
Successor	Tobias Lewenstein (1902) Max (Moses) Friediger (1920)
Synagogue	Great Synagogue of Copenhagen
Began	1892 (first term) 1919 (second term)
Ended	1902 (first term) 1920 (second term)

After his graduation, Simonsen returned to Denmark, where he married Cora Caroline Salomon (1856–1938). He took a position with the Community of the Mosaic Faith and the Great Synagogue of Copenhagen, and after the passing of long-time Chief Rabbi Abraham Wolff in 1891, Simonsen was named chief rabbi of Denmark. He served from 1821 to 1902 and again briefly from 1919 to 1920. In 1903, Simonsen was awarded the title of professor by the University of Copenhagen.

Simonsen's archives (acquired by the Danish Royal Library in 1932) reflect the history of several scientific disciplines over a full half century. The list of correspondents contains the names of leading scientists within Oriental and Jewish Studies, but also from other areas, such as the classicist Ada Adler.[1][2] During World War I, Simonsen acted as "communication central", maintaining all the important contacts in Denmark and abroad, between organisations and individuals. He was also able to relay messages between relatives on different sides of the front, and after the war, he continued to be active in different relief organisations, both in Denmark and abroad.

David Simonsen’s private library of approximately 45,000 volumes, also acquired by The Royal Library in 1932, testifies to his wide-ranging scholarly interests.