George Kirchwey

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George Washington Kirchwey, LL.D (1855-1942) was an American legal scholar.

Detroit, Michigan-born, he graduated Yale (1879), was admitted to the bar in 1882, and practiced law at Albany, New York for ten years. He edited Historical Manuscripts, State of New York (1887-89), was professor of law in Union University, and dean of the Albany Law School (1889-91), professor of law in Columbia (1891 - 1901), dean of Columbia Law School from 1901 to 1910 and was a pioneer in the introduction of the case method of studying law. He resigned as Kent Professor of Law at Columbia in 1916.

He became an associate editor of the American Journal of International Law, president of the New York Society of Criminal Law and Sociology, and a commissioner on prison reform for the State of New York. Later, Professor Kirchwey was warden of Sing Sing Correctional Facility (1915-16). He served on various committees investigating prisons and in 1918-19 was director of the United States Employment Service. He was president of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology in 1917.

He was one of the co-founders of the New York Peace Society in 1906 and president of the American Peace Society in 1917. He ran unsuccessfully as a member of the Progressive Party for the New York Court of Appeals in 1912, losing to Democrats William H. Cuddeback and John W. Hogan.

Kirchwey was the father of Freda Kirchwey, longtime editor of The Nation magazine.

[edit] References

  • Kirchwey, George W. Foreword in Reid, Alfred (ed.) The Dissenting Opinions of Mr. Justice Holmes: Arranged, with Introductory Notes (New York: The Vanguard Press, 1929).
  • Kirchwey, George W. Readings in the Law of Real Property, an Elementary Collection of Authorities for Students (New York: Baker, Voorhis & Company, 1900).
  • Kirchwey, George W. Select Cases and Other Authorities on the Law of Mortgage(New York: Baker, Voorhis & Company, 1902).
  • Kirchwey, George W. A Survey of the Workings of the Criminal Syndicalism Law of California (Los Angeles and San Francisco: California Committee, American Civil Liberties Union, 1926).