Emma Lazarus

American poet (1849–1887)

1849 — 1887

Quick Facts

Profession

American poet (1849–1887)

Born

July 22, 1849

Died

1887 (age ~38)

Name Origin

English

Timeline

writer, poet, translator

United StatesBorn in New York CityDied in New York City

1849

Born in New York City (1849-07-22)

1887

Died in New York City

About

Emma Lazarus was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus", which was inspired by the Statue of Liberty, in 1883. Its lines appear inscribed on a bronze plaque, installed in 1903, on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus was involved in aiding refugees to New York who had fled antisemitic pogroms in eastern Europe, and she saw a way to express her empathy for these refugees in terms of the statue. The last lines of the sonnet were set to music by Irving Berlin as the song "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor" for the 1949 musical Miss Liberty, which was based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty. The latter part of the sonnet was also set by Lee Hoiby in his song "The Lady of the Harbor" written in 1985 as part of his song cycle "Three Women".