Scholar and orator. One of the founders of the Reform movement in Germany. At the age of 21 he became the rabbi of the Jewish community of Wiesbaden, Germany, and immediately started to introduce reforms in the synagogue services. In 1837, he called the first conference of liberal, or Reform, rabbis in Wiesbaden; the next year, he was chosen assistant rabbi and later rabbi of the important community of Breslau. The Orthodox members separated and founded a community of their own. In his works, Geiger strove to show that Judaism has evolved throughout the generations. He considered Jews a religious group whose mission is to spread ethical ideas. He removed all references to Zion from the religious services and eliminated prayers which he considered inconsistent with modern thought.