Yakhnovitsh, Leyb
1878[1]– 1942
He was born in the village of Karanyets (Karaniec), Minsk district, Byelorussia.
From age twelve to sixteen, he studied in a small synagogue in Berezin (Berezino), and he later became an external (auditor) student in Minsk. He took part in the Zionist Socialist Party, using the pseudonym Aleksander.
From 1910 he was publishing stories in Litvin’s Lebn un Visnshaft (Life and Science), the anthology Knospen (Buds), Vilner Vokhnblat (Vilna Weekly Newspaper) under the editorship of Lipman Levin, Der Tog (The Day) in Vilna (1912), Der Shtern (The Star) in Vilna (1913), and Chaim Zhitlovsky’s Dos Naye Lebn (The New Life) in New York, among others.
In 1912 he attended the technical school in Liège. From 1915 he was living in Odessa, serving as a member of the editorial board of the children’s magazine Blimelakh (Little Flowers), and later he contributed work and from 1921 edited Komunistisher Shtim (Communist Voice). He was a correspondent (using the name A. Dinin) for Forverts (Forward) in New York, Di Prese (The press) in Buenos Aires, and Emes (Truth) in Moscow.
He also did translation work, such as: Professor D. Zabolotni, Onshtekndike Krenk (Infactious Diseases) (Odessa, 1921), 63 pp.; Dr. Berlous, Tuberkuloz (Tuberculosis) (Odessa, 1922); Dr. Gershenzon, Vi tsu Hodeven Kinder un Ernerung fun Kinder in Shul-Elter (How to Raise Children and Nourishment for Children of School Age); August Bebel, Di Lage fun der Froy Itst un in der Tsukunft (The Condition of Women Now and in the Future [original: Frau in der Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft]); and Karl Marx, Revolutsye un Kontr-Revolutsye (Revolution and Counter-Revolution).
Birthdate is per the memorial plaque (see image). The Lexicon Vol 4 (citation below) states birth year as 1887.
Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1; Mr. Victor Nemchinov, the grandson of Leyb Yakhnovitsh.
Correction re.: "the children’s magazine Blimelakh (Little flowers)".
Blimelakh (Little flowers) was the name of Ferlag (the Publishing House), that specialised in publishing literature for children in Odessa.
* the children’s magazine Blimelakh was published in Argentine.
Portraits of Leyb Yakhnovitsh. He died in 1942.