Clarence Darrow
The brilliant, theatrical American lawyer who defended the damned in landmark trials, making the case for mercy, science, and civil rights in a hostile courtroom.
1857–1938 (age 81)·American defense attorney and leading member of ACLU·Birthday: April 18
Biography
Clarence Darrow emerged from the Ohio heartland with a rumpled suit, a midwestern drawl, and a piercing skepticism for authority. He first made his name as a fierce labor lawyer, defending union leaders like Eugene Debs with a populist fury. But it was in the 1920s, as America's moral certainties hardened, that Darrow staged his greatest defenses. He stood against the death penalty for the cold-blooded teen killers Leopold and Loeb, arguing against vengeance and for understanding. In the scorching heat of Dayton, Tennessee, he defended a teacher's right to teach evolution in the Scopes Monkey Trial, humbling the fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan on the stand. In Detroit, he defended a Black family, the Sweets, for defending their home from a white mob. In each case, he turned the trial into a public seminar on psychology, justice, and human dignity.
#1 When Clarence Was Born
The biggest hits of 1857
Clarence's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1857Born
1862Started school
President: Abraham Lincoln
1870Became a teenager
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1873Could drive
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1875Could vote
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1878Turned 21
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1887Turned 30
President: Grover Cleveland
1897Turned 40
President: William McKinley
1907Turned 50
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1917Turned 60
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Turned 70
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1937Turned 80
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
1938Died at 81
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
Key Achievements
- Secured a life sentence instead of the death penalty for teenage murderers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in a 1924 trial that captivated the nation.
- Served as defense attorney in the 1925 Scopes 'Monkey' Trial, a landmark clash over teaching evolution in public schools.
- Won a full acquittal for Dr. Ossian Sweet and his family in 1926, a major early victory for civil rights against housing segregation.
- Was a founding member and leading figure of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Did You Know?
He was nearly disbarred early in his career for alleged jury bribery while defending labor leaders, but the charges were dismissed.
He defended over 100 people charged with murder, and not a single one was executed.
Before becoming a lawyer, he worked as a teacher and a salesman for a furniture company.
“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.”
