Ulrich, Otto H., 1935-2001

Otto H. Ulrich, Jr., was born in New York on 9 Nov. 1935. He received his B.A . from The George Washington University, graduating with honors in German and Spanish. He pursued graduate work in Russian and taught himself French and a variety of other languages. Ulrich became a translator/indexer, then editor, at the Library of Congress. He was open about his homosexuality, joining the Mattachine Society of Washington in 1964. He was involved in a number of protests by gay groups during the 1960s. In 1967 he went to work for Melpar, Inc., a defense and aerospace services and products company located in Falls Church, Va. He received a secret security clearance while at Melpar, which was transferred when he went to work for Litton Industries in 1968. In 1969, Ulrich was questioned by the newly-formed Industrial Personnel Security Screening Board about his membership in the Mattachine Society. Although forthright about his homosexuality, Ulrich refused to answer questions about his personal sexual behavior and his security clearance was suspended. In 1971, the ACLU took Ulrich's case. In the landmark Ulrich, et al. v. Laird, et al. case, the U.S. District Court ruled that the government could not ask personal questions about homosexual behavior or deny security clearances if such questions were not answered. The decision was upheld on appeal and Ulrich had his security clearance reinstated. Ulrich died on 12 Sept. 2001.