London, Meyer, 1871-1926

Meyer London (December 29, 1871 – June 6, 1926) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. A member of the Socialist Party, he represented New York's 12th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1915 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1923. London was one of only two members of the Socialist Party of America elected to the United States Congress.

Born in Kalvarija, Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire), he attended Cheder, a traditional Jewish primary school in which he learned Hebrew, before entering Russian-language schools to begin his secular education. In 1891, when Meyer was 20, the family decided to follow his father to America so Meyer terminated his studies and departed for New York City, taking up residence in the city's largely Jewish Lower East Side. He earned money as a tutor, taking on pupils at irregular hours and teaching literature and other topics. He later obtained a job as a librarian, a position which allowed him sufficient time to read about history and politics and to study law in his free time. Meyer also frequented radical meetings, gradually developing proficiency as a public speaker and participant in public debates. In 1896, London was accepted to the law school of New York University; completing the program and being admitted to the New York bar in 1898, he became a labor lawyer, taking on cases which fought injunctions or defending the rights of tenants against the transgressions of landlords. London did not handle criminal cases, but rather limited himself to matters of civil law.

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