Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Azriel Weizmann (Hebrew: חיים עזריאל ויצמן‎ Ḥayīm Wayzman, Russian: Хаим Вейцман Khaim Veytsman; 27 November 1874 –9 November 1952) D.Sc, Sc.D, LL.D was a Zionist leader and Israeli statesman who served as President of the Zionist Organization and later as the first President of Israel. He was elected on 16 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952. Weizmann convinced the United States government to recognize the newly formed state of Israel.

Weizmann was also a biochemist who developed the acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation process, which produces acetone through bacterial fermentation. His acetone production method was of great importance for the British war industry during World War I. He founded the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel and was instrumental in the establishment of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Biography

Early life

Weizmann was born in the village of Motal near Pinsk in Belarus (at that time part of the Russian Empire). He was the third of 15 children born to Oizer and Rachel Czermerinsky Weizmann. His father was a timber merchant. Until the age of 11, he attended a traditional cheder. At the age of 11, he entered high school in Pinsk.