Starr, Merritt, 1856-1931

Starr earned his LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1881 and returned to his native Chicago to practice law.

Mr. Starr was active in Chicago's intellectual and civic life. He was a founding member of the Hull House Social Science Club for Men in 1889. A resident of the North Shore suburb Winnetka, Starr was active in New Trier Township civics and organized the creation of New Trier High School in 1899. Starr was elected the first president of the New Trier Board of Education and the high school opened in 1901.

An acquaintance of the future President while both were at Harvard, Starr contributed the introduction to Thomas H. Russell 's 1920 Life and Work of Theodore Roosevelt. The introduction is a laudatory biographical overview of Roosevelt and contains several anecdotes from their student years.

Starr died August 2, 1931 and was survived by his wife and three children.

From the guide to the Briefs, 1884-1895, (Harvard Law School Library, Harvard University)