Max Lowenthal

Max Lowenthal was born in 1888 in Minneapolis, and after his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1912, spent much of his career in public service. In 1929, when President Herbert Hoover called for the formation of The National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (later called the Wickersham Commission ) to look into the problem of gang related crime and Prohibition enforcement, Lowenthal volunteered his services (pro-bono) as secretary. The Commission, chaired by former Attorney General George W. Wickersham, included other prominent individuals, such as Ada Comstock, President of Radcliffe College, HLS Dean Roscoe Pound, judge and former U.S. Senator William S. Kenyon, and former Secretary of War Newton W. Baker. After working with the Commission for over a year, Lowenthal resigned in July 1930. At the time, his reasons for doing so were not publicized, but in a formal statement to members of the Commission, he cited partisanship as well as the failure of the Commission to adhere to its original ideal, of addressing the entire problem of criminal law, not just Prohibition. Lowenthal was replaced as secretary by W.F. Barry. In 1950, Lowenthal wrote an expose of the FBI, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was later labeled a Communist by the House Un-American Activities Committee. He died in New York City in 1971.

From the guide to the Papers, 1929-1931, (Harvard Law School Library, Harvard University)