Hal Higdon research papers on the Leopold and Loeb case, ca. 1920-1980.

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Hal Higdon research papers on the Leopold and Loeb case, ca. 1920-1980.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/713341998

Research notes, transcripts of interviews, correspondence, partial trial transcript, copies of newspaper and magazine articles, and other documentation gathered by Higdon that relate to the the 1924 murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb; plus annotated and revised manuscripts of Higdon's book (Crime of the century: the Leopold and Loeb case, published 1975; reprinted 1999 as: Leopold and Loeb: the crime of the century) and text of a lecture by Higdon about the case. Most materials date from the early 1970s. Topics include juvenile delinquency of privileged youths; psychology and the concept of thrill killing; Clarence Darrow's trial strategy for the defense and opposition to capital punishment; the trial prosecutor, Robert E. Crowe; and reactions of family and friends. Correspondents include Nathan Leopold's widow, Trudi F. Leopold; Leopold's lawyer Elmer Gertz; and Gene Lovitz. Interviewees include acquaintenances and friends of Leopold and Loeb.

3 linear ft. (7 boxes)

Chicago History Museum

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SNAC Resource ID: 8081950

Chicago History Museum

Related Entities

There are 9 Entities related to this resource.

Darrow, Clarence S. (Clarence Seward), 1857-1938

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67q9pzg (person)

Clarence Seward Darrow, prominent Chicago trial lawyer, was born in Kinsman, Ohio on April 18, 1857. He attended Allegheny College, after which he studied one year at the University of Michigan Law School. He then worked as a lawyer in Youngstown, and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1878. He practiced in Ohio for nine years, before moving to Chicago, where he practiced privately before being appointed assistant corporation counsel for the City of Chicago. For four years he served as Chi...

Leopold, Nathan Freudenthal, 1904-1971

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p27xn2 (person)

Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), often referred to as "Leopold and Loeb", were privileged and wealthy teenage University of Chicago students who murdered 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in 1924 in a desire to commit the “perfect crime,” and were sentenced to prison for 99 years plus a life term. Leopold was paroled in 1958 and spent the rest of his life in Puerto Rico, dying of heart failure in 197...

Leopold, Trudi F.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fj4svm (person)

Franks, Bobby, 1909-1924

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c84mzh (person)

Higdon, Hal

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fb7dtp (person)

Gertz, Elmer, 1906-2000

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mk6xb6 (person)

Elmer Gertz (September 14, 1906 - April 27, 2000) was an American lawyer, writer and civil rights activist. During his lengthy legal career he won some high-profile cases, most notably parole for notorious killer Nathan Leopold and the obscenity trial of Henry Miller's novel Tropic of Cancer (novel). In addition to accounts of his cases and career, he also reviewed books and edited a collection of works by Frank Harris, whom he represented as literary agent. From the description of E...

Crowe, Robert E., 1879-1958

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68k9nxj (person)

Loeb, Richard A., 1905 or 6-1936

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jj1jdp (person)

Lovitz, Gene

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t46fzv (person)