Ernst, Morris L. (Morris Leopold), 1888-1976

Source Citation

Morris Ernst (August 23, 1888 – May 21, 1976) was an American lawyer and prominent attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In public life, he defended and asserted the rights of Americans to privacy and freedom from censorship, playing a significant role in challenging and overcoming the banning of certain works of literature (including James Joyce's <i>Ulysses</i> and Radclyffe Hall's <i>The Well of Loneliness</i>) and in asserting the right of media employees to organise labor unions. He also promoted an anti-communist stance within the ACLU itself, and was a member of the President's Committee on Civil Rights.<p>
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Morris Leopold Ernst was born in Uniontown, Alabama, on August 23, 1888, into a Jewish family. The family moved to New York when Morris was two, and lived in several locations in Manhattan where Carl ran a general store. Morris attended the Horace Mann School and graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1909. He studied law at night at New York Law School where he graduated in 1912 and was admitted to the New York bar in 1913.
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In 1912, he married Susan Leerburger, with whom he had a son (who died in infancy) and a daughter. Susan died in 1922. Ernst married Margaret Samuels in 1923, and together they had a son and a daughter. Margaret died in 1964. Ernst kept a summer home on Nantucket, Massachusetts, and enjoyed sailing small boats. He died at home in New York City on May 21, 1976. He was survived by his son, both daughters, and five grandchildren.

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Name Entry: Ernst, Morris L. (Morris Leopold), 1888-1976

Found Data: [ { "contributor": "VIAF", "form": "authorizedForm" }, { "contributor": "LC", "form": "authorizedForm" } ]
Note: Contributors from initial SNAC EAC-CPF ingest

Name Entry: アーンスト, モーリス・L

Found Data: [ { "contributor": "VIAF", "form": "alternativeForm" } ]
Note: Contributors from initial SNAC EAC-CPF ingest