Born in Riga, now capital of Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire, he was the first person of Jewish descent to be elected to a prize fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford.

• 伯林出生于里加，现在是拉脱维亚的首都，当时是俄帝国的一部分，他是牛津大学“已故信徒思想研究学院”第一个被选获得奖学金的犹太人。