Born: 2 May 1860 · Died: 3 July 1904 · Age at death: 44
How old was Theodor Herzl when he died?
Theodor Herzl died aged 44. He was born on 2 May 1860 and died on 3 July 1904.
Founder of the modern political Zionist movement
Did you know?Before dedicating himself to politics, he was a prominent journalist and a successful playwright in Vienna.
Quick facts
Date of birth2 May 1860
Date of death3 July 1904
Age at death44
Cause of deathPneumonia
NationalityAustro-Hungarian
BirthplacePest, Hungary
Occupationjournalist, lawyer, writer
Editor's Take:
Theodor Herzl was a Viennese journalist and playwright. He turned a scattered idea into a political movement. Antisemitism in France and Austria convinced him that Jews needed a state of their own. He organised congresses, founded institutions and met sultans, kaisers and ministers. He died at 44, decades before Israel was founded in 1948. His remains were moved to Jerusalem in 1949. Israel's national cemetery on Mount Herzl bears his name. His vision remains central to Israel's founding story.
Key Milestones
1891: Becomes Paris correspondent for a Vienna newspaper
1896: Publishes The Jewish State
1897: Convenes the First Zionist Congress
1902: Publishes the novel Altneuland
Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was a Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the Zionist Organization and promoted Jewish immigration to Palestine, which, in the late 19th century was part of the Ottoman Empire, in an effort to form a Jewish state.
