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Samuel A. Portnoy (1920 - 2004) was a professor of History at Florida Atlantic University (1963-1991) in Boca Raton, Florida.  Dr. Portnoy was a native New Yorker and received his bachelor's degree and Ph.D.  from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his master's from the University of Chicago. In 1963, he began teaching history at Florida Atlantic University where he was actively involved in the planning of the University's academic program.  He was also first chairman of the Department of History at FAU.  His areas of specialization include Russian and Soviet history, 19th and 20th century European history, and Modern Jewish history. Dr. Portnoy was also a prominent lecturer, speaking on subjects of current and historic importance.  These subjects included the Middle East, the Gorbachev revolution, German unification, and select topics in modern Jewish history (Hasidism, Zionism, Jewish labor and social movements in Europe and the United States), and various aspects of Yiddish culture.  Much of his research was focused on the Jewish Labor Bund and the life of Vladimir Medem, a Russian Jewish political leader.  Portnoy's publications include articles in both Yiddish and English for the journals Labor History, Dissent, and Yiddish. He is also the editor-translator of Vladimir Medem's memoirs entitled: The Life and Soul of a Legendary Jewish Socialist and Henryk Erlich and Victor Alter – Two Heroes and Martyrs for Jewish Socialism.

Dr. Walter Wadepuhl (1895-1989) is well-known for his scholarship on German poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine. Born in Germany in 1895, he immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve. He held a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Wadepuhl was head of the Department of Languages and Comparative Literature at Elmhurst College where he also taught German for nineteen years. In 1964, he was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor of German at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Wadepuhl authored many articles and several books on Goethe and Heine, including Goethe's Interest in the New World (1934) and Heine: Sein Leben und seine Werke (1974). The collection also includes correspondence, research notes, manuscripts, publications, photographs and letters with other German scholars.

The materials in this collection reflect the subject's work in citrus fruit research. Of special note are the bound logs used by the research stations. Also present are articles published by the subject as well as correspondence. A small number of slides and lecture materials are also available.