Leslie Howard

Birth Name: Leslie Howard Steiner

Date of Birth: 3 April, 1893

Place of Birth: Forest Hill, Lewisham, London, England, U.K.

Date of Death: 1 June, 1943

Place of Death: at sea over Bay of Biscay, off the coast of Galicia, Spain, near Cedeira

Ethnicity:
*62.5% Ashkenazi Jewish
*37.5% English

Leslie Howard was a British actor, director, producer, and writer. He starred in the films Berkeley Square, Of Human Bondage, The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), The Petrified Forest, Pygmalion (1938), which he co-directed; Gone with the Wind, Intermezzo (1939), “Pimpernel” Smith, The First of the Few, and The Gentle Sex, and also directed the latter three. He wrote stories and articles for major publications. During WWII, he helped make anti-German films and gather support for the Allies. He died in 1943, when he was a passenger on BOAC Flight 777, shot down by the German Luftwaffe.

Leslie was the son of Lilian (Blumberg) and Ferdinand Raphael Steiner. His uncle, mother’s brother, was director Wilfred Noy (Wilfred Noy Blumberg). Leslie’s father was a Jewish emigrant, who was born in Szigetvár, Baranya, Hungary. Leslie’s mother was born in Kensington, London, England; she was raised Christian, and was herself of one quarter German Jewish and three quarters English descent.

Leslie was married to Ruth Evelyn Martin, until his death. The couple had two children, including actor and writer Ronald Howard.

Leslie’s paternal grandfather was named Berthold Samuel Steiner.

Leslie’s paternal grandmother was named Bertha/Cecilie Bodansky.

Leslie’s maternal grandfather was Charles Nathaniel Blumberg (the son of Ludwig Alexander George Blumberg and Jane Weatherill Parkinson). Charles was born in Paris, France, to a German Jewish father and an English mother. Ludwig was a merchant. Jane was the daughter of Nathaniel Parkinson and Mary Pickering.

Leslie’s maternal grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Roworth (the daughter of Charles William Roworth and Sarah Elizabeth Noy). Mary Elizabeth was English, and was born in Brockham, Surrey.

Sources: Genealogy of Leslie Howard – https://www.geni.com

Leslie’s mother on the 1891 England and Wales Census – https://www.familysearch.org