Sabsay, Nahum, 1890-

Born in Simferopol on the Russian Crimean peninsula, Sabsay (d.1965) survived the pogrom of 1905 and served in the Russian and Belgian armies in WWI. Fleeing the Red Army as commander of a Jewish self-defense unit, he traveled across Siberia and arrived in the U.S. in 1918. After working for a year, he entered Harvard to study mining engineering and graduated in 1923. He settled in California, working as a tool and die and instrument maker while writing novels, short stories, and essays in English. His writings draw primarily from his experiences as a soldier and as a newcomer to the U.S.

Born in Simferopol on the Russian Crimean peninsula, Nahum Sabsay served in the Russian and Belgian armies in World War I. Fleeing the Red Army as commander of a Jewish self-defense unit, he traveled across Siberia and arrived in the U.S. in 1918. He entered Harvard to study mining engineering and graduated in 1923. He settled in California, worked as a tool and die and instrument maker, and mastered English while writing novels, short stories, and essays, which he and his wife, Elizabeth K. Sabsay, worked to get published. Sabsay died in 1965.