In 1856, he began studies in classical languages and mathematics at the universities of Berlin and Halle/Saale (Ph.D. 1862), and concurrently with the university studies he pursued Talmudic learning. Settling in Berlin, he was appointed principal of the Talmud school, a position which he resigned in 1865 to accept that of the principal of Jews' College, London, in succession to Barnett Abrahams. There he taught theology, biblical and rabbinical exegesis, Talmud, Jewish history, mathematics, and Arabic.
Title page of The Guide for the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides, translated from the original Arabic text by M. Friedländer, Ph.D., Pardes Publishing House, 1946.
Friedländer displayed considerable literary activity. He authored a few dozen articles for the Jewish Encyclopedia. As a member of the Society of Hebrew Literature he published under its auspices:
The Commentary of Abraham ibn Ezra on Isaiah, translated into English with extensive annotations (available on Google Books)
He also edited a Jewish Family Bible in English and Hebrew, compiled a Handbook of the Jewish Religion, made calculations on the Hebrew calendar, and contributed articles to the Jewish Quarterly Review, the Dictionary of National Biography, and other publications. Numerous papers read by him at Jews' College and elsewhere have been published.
References
Gaster, Theodor (1946), "Dr. Michael Friedländer (a biographical sketch)", in Michael Friedländer (ed.), The Jewish Religion (2nd ed.), New York: Pardes