Howard Adelson *52

Howard Adelson died Dec. 5, 2003; he was 78.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he graduated from NYU in 1945 and joined the Army as a lieutenant in the Pacific theater. After the war, Adelson did graduate work at Columbia U. and at Princeton, where his studies for a doctorate in history were interrupted by service in the Air Force during the Korean War.

Adelson began teaching economic history, early medieval history, and ancient and medieval numismatics at City College of NY in 1954 and remained there nearly 50 years. He also developed the PhD program in medieval history at the Graduate Center in the City U. of NY.

Outside academia, he was an ardent Zionist active in ISraeli affairs. For more than 20 years he wrote a weekly column for the Jewish Press that had a large following.

Adelson was a fellow of the American Numismatic Society and a member of the Explorers Club. He served on the board of governors of the Hebrew U. of Jerusalem and chaired the Anna Sobel Levy Foundation, which supports junior US military officers for study in ISrael.

Adelson is survived by two children and one grandchild.