Michael Samuels

Michael Louis Samuels (14 September 1920 – 24 November 2010) was a British Ashkenazi historical linguist, responsible for the Historical Thesaurus of English. Life Samuels was born 14 September 1920 in London, the son of Harry Samuels, and Céline Aronowitz: his sister was actress Miriam Karlin (1925–2011). His was an orthodox Jewish upbringing, but he later said he was an atheist. He studied at St Paul's school, and Balliol College, Oxford, initially to study classics, but graduating with first-class honours in English in 1947, after wartime service with the Air Ministry. In 1950 he married Hilary, and they had a daughter Vivien. His academic career began with a research fellowship at the University of Birmingham followed by a lectureship at Edinburgh University. He became Professor of English Language at Glasgow University in 1959, staying until his retirement in 1990.