Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore, born 27 June 1965, is a British historian, television presenter and author of popular history books and novels. Simon Sebag Montefiore was born in London. His father was psychotherapist Stephen Eric Sebag Montefiore (1926–2014), a great-grandson of the banker Sir Joseph Sebag-Montefiore (1822-1903), the nephew and heir of the wealthy philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore[3] considered by some "the most important Jew of the 19th century". Simon's mother was Phyllis April Jaffé, (1927–2019) from the Lithuanian branch of the Jaffe family. Her parents fled the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. They bought tickets for New York City, but were cheated, being instead dropped off at Cork, Ireland. Due to the Limerick boycott in 1904 her father Henry Jaffé left the country and moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, England.[4] Simon's brother is Hugh Sebag-Montefiore.