Eugene Volokh
A First Amendment scholar who turned a group blog into a must-read legal forum, shaping how the internet debates free speech and guns.
Born 1968 (age 58)·Ukrainian–American legal scholar·Birthday: February 29·Generation X
Biography
Eugene Volokh is a legal thinker who helped define the intellectual landscape of the early internet. Born in the Soviet Union, his family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, an experience that deeply informed his appreciation for American constitutional freedoms. A prodigy, he entered UCLA Law School at 21 and later joined its faculty, where he built a reputation for sharp, libertarian-leaning analysis of the First and Second Amendments. In 2002, he co-founded 'The Volokh Conspiracy,' a blog that became a rare phenomenon: an academically rigorous yet accessible daily digest of legal news and theory. It attracted a massive readership of lawyers, judges, and policymakers, proving that serious legal scholarship could thrive online. The blog's influence was cemented when it was acquired by The Washington Post. Volokh's work demystifies complex legal doctrines, making him a central translator between the academy and the public square.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Eugene was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Eugene Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Eugene's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 40
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 50
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 58 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Founded 'The Volokh Conspiracy,' a highly influential legal blog later hosted by The Washington Post.
- Authored the widely used textbook 'The First Amendment and Related Statutes' while a professor at UCLA School of Law.
- His legal scholarship has been cited multiple times in opinions by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski on the Ninth Circuit and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Did You Know?
He published his first computer program, a spelling checker, at the age of 14.
He became the youngest tenured professor at UCLA Law School when he received tenure at 31.
He is a registered patent attorney.
His family fled the Soviet Union as refugees when he was a child.
“A law is not unconstitutional just because it's a bad law, or a stupid law, or an unfair law.”
