Born on November 6, 1870 (Liverpool, England)
Died on February 5, 1963 (London, England)

High Commissioner of Palestine
British politician

As the first British High Commissioner for Palestine, a role in which he served from 1920 to 1925, Herbert Louis Samuel faced many challenges. The experienced British politician tried to please three very different groups in the region: the Zionists, who wanted him to support a Jewish homeland in Palestine; the Arabs, who insisted that he protect their historic claims to land and political representation; and the British, who asked that he rectify these conflicting demands to provide a politically stable country that the British could continue to help toward independence. In the end, Samuel satisfied no one completely, a result that has been all too common in a region deeply divided by religious differences and conflicting claims to limited...