Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. He translated the sonnets and some other of the works of William Shakespeare, English poetry (including poems for children), and poetry from other languages. Maxim Gorky proclaimed Marshak to be "the founder of Russia's (Soviet) children's literature". Early years Marshak was born to a Jewish family on 3 November 1887 in Voronezh. His father was a foreman at a soap-making plant. He had a good home education and later studied at the gymnasium (secondary school) of Ostrogozhsk, a suburb of Voronezh. He started to write poetry during his childhood years in Voronezh. His brother Ilya (who wrote under the pseudonym M. Ilin) (1896—1953) and sister Liya (who wrote as Elena Ilina) (1901—1964) also both became Soviet authors. In 1902, the Marshak family moved to Saint Petersburg. There was a complication: as a Jew, Marshak could not legally live outside the Pale of Settlement, thus he could not attend school while living in the city. Philanthropist and scholar Baron David Günzburg took an interest in Marshak and introduced him to the influential critic Vladimir Stasov. Stasov was so impressed by the schoolboy's literary talent that he arranged an exception from the Pale laws for Samuil and his family. He also introduced Marshak to Maxim Gorky and Feodor Chaliapin. In 1904, Samuil was diagnosed with tuberculosis and could no longer continue to live in the cold climate of Saint Petersburg. Maxim Gorky arranged for Samuil to live with his family in the Black Sea resort town of Yalta (1904–1907). Gorky and Chaliapin also paid for his education and therapy. However, he spent much of this period in Kerch, living with the Fremerman family. Young poet, philosopher and translator In 1904, he published his first works in the magazine Jewish Life and in the mid- to late 1900s, Marshak created a body of Zionist verse, some of which appeared in such periodicals as Young Judea. In 1907 he returned to Saint Petersburg and subsequently published numerous works in the popular magazine Satyricon. Marshak failed to gain admission at a university in Russia due to 'political insecurity' and earned his living giving lessons and writing for magazines. From his first trip to the Middle East he brought back many impressions, poems and a beautiful wife.