Ben Haneman

Ben Haneman (13 February 1923 – 18 December 2001) was an Australian physician and book collector.

Early life and medical career Ben Haneman was born Benedetto Haneman in Florence, Italy on 13 February 1923. His parents were Nathan and Amulka Haneman. and which included collections of books on Spanish literature, history and culture, on the history of science, biography and on Jewish culture. and in "every ... significant English translation", as well as a number of illustrated editions of the novel, together with another thousand works on Cervantes. Haneman described what Don Quixote meant to him in the following words: "Don Quixote is central to Spanish literature, to world literature, to writing, production and reading of books and, in my fevered belief, is central to living and being."

Public service Haneman was a committed member of the Jewish community in Australia and served both as the "chairman of the Social Justice Committee of the Jewish Board of Deputies"

Awards and honours 1984: Knight (Caballero) of the Orden del Mérito Civil (Spain)

Ben Haneman Memorial Lecture The biennial Ben Haneman Memorial Lecture is presented jointly by the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine and the State Library of New South Wales.

The Ben Haneman Memorial Student Prize was awarded annually by the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine (ANZSHM) for the best student research essay in the history of medicine. In 2018 the Prize was discontinued in order to bolster the Ben Haneman Memorial Postgraduate Student Conference Grants, a travel grants programme.

Personal life Haneman was married twice. His first wife was Marion Salkow, with who he had two sons, David and Peter. His second wife was Beryl Thompson.

He died on 18 December 2001 in Darlinghurst, New South Wales following a fall the day before in the State Library. He was survived by his two sons, his two daughters-in-law and his four grandchildren.