Born: 16 October 1886 · Died: 1 December 1973 · Age: 87
Zionist leader who proclaimed the State of Israel in 1948 and became its first prime minister
Did you know?He was an avid practitioner of yoga and was famously photographed doing a headstand on a beach in his seventies.
Quick facts
Date of birth16 October 1886
Date of death1 December 1973
Age at death87
Cause of deathStroke
NationalityIsraeli
BirthplacePłońsk, Poland
Occupationpolitician, trade unionist, Zionist
Editor's Take:
David Ben-Gurion was the founding father of Israel. Born in Poland, he emigrated to Ottoman Palestine in 1906 and worked as a farm labourer. He led the Jewish community's main institutions for decades. On 14 May 1948 he read out Israel's declaration of independence in Tel Aviv. As prime minister he led the new state through its first war and built its army. He dreamed of settling the Negev desert and retired to a kibbutz there.
Key Milestones
1906: Emigrates to Ottoman Palestine
1935: Becomes chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive
1948: Proclaims the State of Israel
1953: Retires briefly to kibbutz Sde Boker
1963: Steps down as prime minister
David Ben-Gurion ( ben GOOR-ee-ən; Hebrew: דָּוִד בֶּן־גּוּרִיּוֹן; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder and first prime minister of the State of Israel.
