Jewish Or Not – Happy Birthday Edition: Mark Knopfler
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
Published August 11, 2021
It’s a right of Jewish passage to wonder who out there in the world is Jewish too, especially famous people like actors, singers, athletes, and even social media stars and YouTubers. It’s just something we do.
So, to better answer the question about whether that person is Jewish or not, we’re partnering with Team JONJ at Jew Or Not Jew, a website dedicated to this exact topic. The site is hilarious so please give them a read, so they’ll stay partners with us.
Mark Knopfler
August 12, 1949 —
Over the years, Mark Knopfler has been one of the most requested profiles. According to our readers, he’s “one of the finest guitarists of our time”, a “great musician, songwriter and composer”, a “music legend”, and just plain “awesome”. Oh, and “a proud Scot… who happens to be Jewish”. Can’t forget that.
That is all terrific, and doesn’t even mention Knopfler’s authorship of “The Princess Bride” score… but neither of those are the reasons we’re profiling him today.
Mark Knopfler has a dinosaur named after him!
The Masiakasaurus, species name masiakasaurus knopfleri, is a small (about the height of an adult human!) predatory theropod dinosaur, whose remains were found on Madagascar and named after Knopfler. No, he didn’t discover him. The name was given by the expedition crew who enjoyed Knopfler’s music.
Any other Jews with dinosaurs named after them? Send it in, dear readers, and you wouldn’t have to wait years for a profile!
