Biography.guide
Home › People › Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel
Portrait of Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel

Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel

1898 – 1978

British viscount

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel

Lived 1898 – 1978 (aged 80). Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel was a British.

Edwin Herbert Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel (; 11 September 1898 – 14 November 1978), was a British lord, also active in Mandatory Palestine and the State of Israel.

The son of Beatrice Franklin and Herbert Samuel – Palestine's first high commissioner – he was the father of Professor David Samuel and Dan Samuel.

Samuel was educated at Westminster School and Balliol College, Oxford. In the spring of 1917 he joined the Royal Artillery and was posted to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. He also served in the Jewish Legion. After the First World War he joined the Mandatory Government in Palestine, and was the last mandate-era director of the Palestine Broadcasting Service.

As a viscount, he served as a peer in the House of Lords. One of his significant acts was to have the law that forbade marriage between a woman and her brother-in-law repealed. His explicit intent was to allow a man to fulfil his responsibility under the Judaic Biblical law of levirate marriage, as described in the Book of Deuteronomy, whereby the brother of a man who dies childless must marry the widow.

Lord Samuel was the initiator of the Knesset Menorah project which eventually led to the huge bronze candelabrum presented by the British parliament to the State of Israel in 1956.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Positions held
District officer
Awards
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George; Honorary doctor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

People in Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel?

British viscount (1898–1978)

When was Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel born?

Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel was born on 11 September 1898.

When did Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel die?

Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel died on 14 November 1978.

What nationality was Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel?

Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel

· Wikidata: Q5346800

· DBpedia: Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel. https://biography.guide/edwin-samuel-2nd-viscount-samuel/

MLA: "Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/edwin-samuel-2nd-viscount-samuel/.

Chicago: "Edwin Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/edwin-samuel-2nd-viscount-samuel/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:30 UTC