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.
