Lawrence Maxwell (born Lawrence B. Cohen, Jr., October 20, 1909.) briefly attended Harvard University, where he founded the Harvard University Socialist Club in 1928. He became an atheist and changed his name to not be identified as Jewish. In the Socialist party, he went by Albert Robertson (which was his grandfather's name). During his sophmore year, he left Harvard and became a member of the Young Communist League (YCL), and later he became a Trotskyist for a short time. Maxwell worked in a small bookstore and when World War II broke out joined the Merchant Marines. Maxwell moved to New York City and opened a bookstore, which went bankrupt in 1950. He then went to work for the Bureau of Business Practice, a subsidiary of Prentice Hall. Maxwell died in 1991.
A more thorough biography of Lawrence Maxwell cane be found in the Collection Survey Report in the collection.
From the guide to the Lawrence Maxwell Papers, undated, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)
