Henry J. Abraham

For other people named Henry Abraham, seeHenry Abraham (disambiguation).

Henry J. Abraham
Abraham in 1972
Born	(1921-08-25)August 25, 1921 Offenbach,Weimar Republic
Died	February 26, 2020(2020-02-26)(aged 98) Charlottesville, Virginia,U.S.
Education	Kenyon College(BA) Columbia University(MA) University of Pennsylvania(PhD)
Occupation(s)	Professor, writer, lecturer
Spouse	Mildred K. Abraham (m. 1954)
Children	2

Henry Julian Abraham(August 25, 1921 – February 26, 2020)was a German-born American scholar on the judiciary and constitutional law. He was James Hart Professor of Government Emeritus at theUniversity of Virginia.He was the author of 13 books, most in multiple editions, and more than 100 articles on theU.S. Supreme Court,judicial appointments, judicial process, and civil rights and liberties.

Early life and education

Abraham was born inOffenbach,Weimar Republic,the son of Frederick and Liesel Kullman Abraham. His family was Jewish. In 1937, Abraham was sent to the United States to live with relatives during the rise of theNazi regime.His father was arrested onKristallnachtand spent two months inDachau concentration camp.In 1939, Abraham was reunited with his parents and brother Otto, and the family settled in Pittsburgh, PA.

He served inWorld War IIas an enlisted man and officer inU.S. Army Intelligenceon duty in Western and Central Europe. He received twoBattle Starsand theCommendation Medal.When the war ended in theEuropean Theater,Abraham, who was fluent in German, French, and English, and adequate in Danish, served in a military unit that gathered evidence for use in theNuremberg War Crimes Trials.

In 1948, Abraham graduated fromKenyon Collegein Ohio with a bachelor's degree with highest honors in political science, first in his class,summa cum laudeandPhi Beta Kappa.He earned his M.A. in public law and government fromColumbia Universityin 1949, and he received his Ph.D. in political science from theUniversity of Pennsylvaniain 1952, where he began his teaching career.

Career

After serving in the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Political Science for 23 years (1949–1972), Abraham became a chaired professor in the Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia in 1972. A pioneer in comparative judicial studies, he served as aFulbright Scholarin Denmark at the Universities ofCopenhagenandAarhus,where he was instrumental in establishing the country's first Department of Political Science. He lectured throughout the world underU.S.I.A.auspices. He retired from full-time teaching in 1997 after nearly a half-century in the classroom, but he continued to teach in lifelong learning programs inCharlottesville, Virginia.

Notable students

During the span of his career, Abraham taught many notable students, including U.S. SenatorArlen Specter(D.-Penn.); JudgeEdward R. Becker,U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals; JudgeSusan J. Dlott,Chief Judge, U.S. District Court in Ohio; JudgeJohn Roll,U.S. District Court in Arizona; JudgeCharles R. Weiner,U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania; Judge Mark S. Davis, U.S. District Court in Virginia; JudgeStefan R. Underhill,U.S. District Court in Connecticut; Chief JusticeLeroy Rountree Hassell, Sr.,Virginia Supreme Court; JusticeElizabeth B. Lacy,Virginia Supreme Court; author and professorLarry J. Sabato;author and professorBarbara A. Perry;author and professorDavid A. Yalof;attorney and Pennsylvania State Rep.Mark B. Cohen;author and Law professorVincent Martin Bonventre;author and professorDavid Cingranelli;author and professorBruce Allen Murphy;author and professorRobert Sitkoff;and authorJohn Aloysius Farrell,the biographer ofClarence Darrow.

Selected publications

• The Judicial Process: An Introductory Analysis of the Courts of the United States, England, and France, 7th ed.Oxford University Press.OCLC801163904
• Freedom and the Court: Civil Rights and Liberties in the United States, 8th ed.,withBarbara A. Perry.University Press of Kansas.OCLC493046218
• Justices, Presidents, Senators: A History of U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II, 5th ed.Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.OCLC493670891
• The Judiciary: The Supreme Court in the Governmental Process, 10th ed..New York University PressOCLC247627575

Awards and honors

In 1983 Abraham was awarded the University of Virginia's most prestigious recognition, the Thomas Jefferson Award, and in 1993 he received the First Lifetime Achievement Award of the Organized Section on Law and Courts of the American Political Science Association. TheDaughters of the American Revolution(DAR) awarded him their 2007 Annual Award for Americanism at their national headquarters, Constitution Hall, in Washington, D.C. Other awards include the recipient of the first $1,000 award for "Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching," University of Pennsylvania, 1959; Phi Beta Kappa National Visiting Scholar, 1970–1971; "IMP" Society, Outstanding Contribution to the University Community Award for 1978, University of Virginia; "Z" Society, Distinguished Faculty Award for 1978, the University of Virginia; the 1983 Distinguished Service Award, Virginia Social Science Association; and the 1986 University of Virginia Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award. Two scholarships were given in Abraham's name at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and its Department of Political Science. He is listed inWho's Who in the World,andWho's Who in America,and others.

In his honor, Professor Abraham's former students and colleagues established the Abraham Distinguished Lecture Series at theUniversity of Virginia School of Lawin 1997 under the auspices of theThomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.

Abraham Lecturers have included Chief JusticeWilliam H. Rehnquistof the U.S. Supreme Court; JudgeJ. Harvie WilkinsonIII, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Chief JusticeLeroy Rountree Hassell, Sr.,Virginia Supreme Court; GeneralWilliam K. SuterClerk, U.S. Supreme Court; Dean and ProfessorJohn Jeffries,University of Virginia School of Law; DeanKenneth Starr,Pepperdine University School of Law;Theodore Olson,attorney withGibson, Dunn, and Crutcher;ProfessorLinda Greenhouse,Yale Law School;Joan Biskupic,USA Today;Jan Crawford Greenburg,ABC News; and Professor Tinsley Yarbrough, East Carolina University. Associate JusticeAntonin Scaliaof the U.S. Supreme Court was the 2010 Abraham Lecturer. ProfessorNadine Strossen,American Civil Liberties UnionPresident (1991–2008), delivered the Abraham Lecture on April 1, 2011.

His alma mater Kenyon College, calling Professor Abraham the most loyal donor in its history (having contributed every year since 1955), created the Henry J. Abraham Society to recognize steadfast and repeated alumni support.

In 2013 the Virginia Social Science Association named their "Best Graduate Student Paper Award", a distinction awarded at their annual conference, after Abraham.

External links

• C-SPAN page providing links to Henry Abraham's nine appearances on the networkArchived2012-10-12 at theWayback Machine
• Freedom and the Courton University Press of Kansas website
• The Judicial Processon Oxford University Press website
• Abraham on NYU Press website
• Book Review ofJustices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Clinton
• Backstory with the American History Boys, transcript of "Scales of Justice"Archived2019-01-15 at theWayback Machine