Professor Emeritus of Dutch and Portuguese Knighted by Queen of the Netherlands

Professor Emeritus Herman Salomon, fourth from left, was made Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau at the Consulate of the Netherlands at a ceremony in June.

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 28, 2011) -- University at Albany Professor Emeritus of French, Dutch and Portuguese Herman Prins Salomon has been knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands.

Salomon was made Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau at the Consulate of the Netherlands at a ceremony in June. The award recognizes his world-class scholarship on the history of Portuguese Jews in the Netherlands as well as his role in developing the study of the Dutch language at the University at Albany.

Salomon retired in 2010 from the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures after 42 years of service to the University. Hired as a French faculty member, he was responsible for initiating Dutch and Portuguese instruction and a Portuguese minor at UAlbany.

He could often be heard speaking several of the 10 languages he knows, preferring to communicate with colleagues in their own languages. In his retirement he has continued his research. He was granted the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Lisbon in February, an honor recognizing his stature as a world-class scholar of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition.

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