Lipson, Leslie, 1912-2000

Leslie M. Lipson was born on Nov. 14, 1912, in London and educated at Oxford University, where he received both his bachelor's and master's degrees, and the University of Chicago, where he received his doctorate. He taught political science at the University of California from 1950-1981, and was awarded the Berkeley Citation in 1980. He died in Berkeley on Aug. 11, 2000.

Biographical Information

Leslie Michael Lipson was born in London, England on November 14, 1912. He attended St. Paul's School in London and went on to Balliol College, Oxford University, on a classical scholarship. He graduated with First Class Honors in Classical Moderations and Litterae Humaniores ("Greats"). He was granted a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship to study political science at the University of Chicago where he earned his doctorate. His Ph.D. dissertation was published as, The American Governor: From Figurehead to Leader, by the University of Chicago Press in 1939.

He taught at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand from 1939 to 1946. He returned to the United States, teaching at Swarthmore College from 1947-1949. In 1950, he moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught political science for more than 30 years. He was also a visiting professor at Columbia, Stanford and Oxford Universities, and the Universities of Hawaii, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Copenhagen.

Lipson was a member of the American and International Political Science Associations and many other organizations. In addition to his academic pursuits, he wrote papers for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He became nationally known for his 13 years of participation in the PBS television program "World Press," on which he reported on the press of Great Britain. After his retirement from Berkeley, he taught and was the academic advisor for the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning at the University of San Francisco.

He wrote several books, including The Great Issues of Politics (1954) and The Democratic Civilization (1964). Both books have been reprinted in numerous editions and translated into many languages. His final scholarly book was The Ethical Crises of Civilizatioin: Moral Meltdown or Advance? His last book was Not Yet the Yeti: Rhymes for the Times. He also wrote articles that were published in the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Dictionary of Social Sciences, the American Political Science Review, The Political Quarterly and The Journal of Politics, among others.

Lipson received the Berkeley Citation in recognition of his excellence in teaching and scholarship. The Lipson Prize is awarded to Berkeley undergraduates, who undertake summer research projects directed towards humanistic values and their implementation.

His first wife, Elizabeth Monroe Drews, was a professor of at Portland State University. After her death, he married Helen Fruchtman. He had one son, David R. Lipson. Leslie Lipson died on August 11, 2000.