Clarence Darrow
Born 1857 · Age 168
American lawyer and civil libertarian known for landmark criminal defenses (Leopold & Loeb, Scopes, Ossian Sweet), labor law advocacy, opposition to the death penalty, prolific public speaking and writing.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Farmdale / near Kinsman, Ohio
Clarence Seward Darrow born to Amirus and Emily Darrow in Farmdale; grew up in nearby Kinsman, Ohio.
Entered Allegheny College (one year)
Enrolled at Allegheny College (Meadville, PA); attended for one year before leaving due to financial pressures (Panic of 1873 soon after).
Attended University of Michigan Law School (one year)
Studied in the University of Michigan law department for about one year before deciding to read law in a law office.
Admitted to the Ohio bar
Passed the Ohio bar and began practicing law in Ohio.
Moved to Harvard, Illinois; early practice
Left Michigan Law School and moved to Harvard, Illinois with classmate L.H. Stafford; tried one of his first cases at the McHenry County Courthouse in January 1880.
Opened law office in Andover, Ohio
Returned to Ohio and opened a law office in the small farming town of Andover; began practice handling local civil and criminal matters.
First successful trial in McHenry County Courthouse
Tried and won one of his earliest cases at the McHenry County Courthouse (recorded January 1880).
Moved legal practice to Ashtabula, Ohio
After building experience in Andover, moved practice to Ashtabula (the county's largest city) and became involved in Democratic politics; served as town counsel.
Birth of son Paul Edward Darrow
His son Paul Edward Darrow was born (to Jessie Ohl).
Moved to Chicago (career shift)
Relocated with his family to Chicago to pursue broader legal and political opportunities (sources vary 1887–1888; 1888 commonly cited).
Worked as special assessment attorney for Chicago
Served briefly as a special assessment attorney for the city of Chicago (recorded role in 1889).
Served as corporation counsel for Chicago
Worked as corporation counsel for the city (date recorded as 1890).
Joined Chicago and North-Western Railway as lawyer
Took a position as a lawyer for the Chicago & North-Western Railway Company (left two years later to defend labor).
Took first murder defense (Prendergast)
Defended Patrick Eugene Prendergast (accused of murdering Chicago mayor Carter Harrison III); the insanity defense failed and Prendergast was executed (Darrow joined post-conviction efforts).
Resigned railroad job to defend Eugene V. Debs (Pullman Strike)
Severed ties with the railroad to represent Eugene V. Debs and other ARU leaders during prosecutions arising from the Pullman Strike of 1894.
Ran for U.S. Congress (Democrat) and lost
Sought election to U.S. Congress in 1895 but lost to Hugh R. Belknap.
Joined Anti-Imperialist League; defended woodworkers in Oshkosh
Joined Anti-Imperialist League opposing Philippine annexation and represented Wisconsin woodworkers successfully (Oshkosh strike case, 1898).
John Peter Altgeld joined Darrow's firm
Former Governor John Peter Altgeld, after losing a Chicago mayoral run in 1899, joined Darrow's practice and worked with him until Altgeld's death in 1902.
Represented United Mine Workers in Anthracite Strike arbitration
Served as counsel in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal strike (1902), cross-examined to show working conditions and child labor use.
Partnered in Darrow, Masters & Wilson (1903–1911)
Formed partnership with Edgar Lee Masters and Francis S. Wilson; firm lasted through 1911.
Elected to Illinois House (Public Ownership Party)
Served in the Illinois House of Representatives (from 17th district) in the 43rd General Assembly advocating municipal ownership of utilities; term began Jan 7, 1903.
Married Ruby Hammerstrom
Married Ruby Hammerstrom, a Chicago journalist 16 years his junior (married July 1903).
Appointed Special Traction Counsel to Chicago mayor
Appointed by Mayor Edward F. Dunne to help resolve the city's traction (streetcar) problem; presented plans to City Council and resigned in November 1905.
Represented Western Federation of Miners (Haywood, Moyer, Pettibone)
Defended leaders charged with conspiring to murder ex-Idaho governor Steunenberg (arrested 1905); Haywood and Pettibone acquitted in separate trials (1906–1908).
Defended McNamara brothers (Los Angeles Times bombing)
Led defense for John and James McNamara accused of the LA Times bombing (Oct 1, 1910); labor-funded defense; negotiated plea bargains under enormous pressure.
Accused of bribing a prospective juror
Detectives alleged that Darrow orchestrated a bribe to a juror; investigator Bert Franklin was arrested delivering $4,000 two blocks from Darrow's office—Darrow's reputation suffered.
McNamara brothers plead guilty (plea bargain)
Under a plea bargain Darrow helped arrange, John received 15 years and James received life imprisonment, avoiding the death penalty for both.
Indicted on jury-bribery charges
Two months after the McNamara pleas, Darrow himself was charged with attempting to bribe jurors and faced two trials.
Shift from labor law to criminal/civil defense
Following the McNamara controversy and related fallout (many unions dropped him), Darrow largely abandoned organized-labor representation and concentrated on criminal and civil defense, with an emphasis on opposing capital punishment.
Acquitted in first bribery trial; second trial hung and deal made
Acquitted in the first bribery trial (defended by Earl Rogers); the second trial ended with a hung jury and a deal that he would not practice law in California in exchange for no retrial.
Publicized effort to commit Mary S. Brazelton
A Chicago Tribune article (July 23, 1915) described Darrow's action on behalf of landlord J.H. Fox attempting to have Mary S. Brazelton committed to an asylum—an episode reflecting his involvement in contentious civil proceedings.
Published controversial Washington Post quote on eugenics
Stated in the Nov 18, 1915 Washington Post: 'Chloroform unfit children...' while simultaneously criticizing aspects of the eugenics movement in other writings.
Defended 20 Chicago Communists (freedom of speech case)
Invoked freedom of speech in defense of Chicago communists charged under sedition or state laws (unsuccessful in outcome but notable advocacy).
Published 'Crime: Its Cause and Treatment'
Major nonfiction work outlining Darrow's views on crime, heredity, environment, and opposition to retributive punishment.
Took on Leopold & Loeb case (kidnapping/murder)
Defended Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb (19 and 18) in a nationally sensational 'Trial of the Century' (summer 1924); focused on avoiding death penalty via guilty pleas and psychological mitigation.
Legal fees from Leopold & Loeb case negotiated
Darrow initially suggested a $200,000 fee but ultimately received about $70,000 gross for the case; after expenses and taxes he netted roughly $30,000 (contemporary accounts).
Judge sentenced Leopold & Loeb to life + 99 years
Judge John Caverly sentenced both defendants to life in prison plus 99 years; Darrow's 12-hour closing argument (sentencing hearing) widely published later.
Defended John T. Scopes in Scopes 'Monkey' Trial
Led defense in Tennessee v. Scopes (July 10–21, 1925) testing the Butler Act that banned teaching evolution; staged trial brought William Jennings Bryan to national prominence as opposing witness.
Retired from full-time practice (age 68)
Following the Scopes and Sweet trials (both 1925), Darrow retired from full-time practice though he continued to accept several high-profile cases thereafter.
Tennessee Butler Act enacted
Butler Act, forbidding teaching evolution in state-funded schools, was passed March 21, 1925—the law central to the Scopes Trial later that year.
Cross-examination of William Jennings Bryan
During Scopes Trial, Darrow called Bryan to the stand as a Bible expert and cross-examined him in a dramatic exchange that shifted public sentiment; the questioning was later expunged from the record by the judge.
Ossian Sweet mob attack and homicide arrest
A Detroit white mob attacked the home of Dr. Ossian Sweet (Sept 9, 1925); shots were fired and a white man was killed; eleven black residents were arrested and Darrow later defended the Sweets.
Henry Sweet found not guilty; charges dropped for remaining Sweets
After a mistrial and successive individual trials, Henry Sweet (who admitted firing the shot) was acquitted on self-defense grounds, and the prosecution dropped charges against the remaining defendants.
Published 'The Prohibition Mania' (with Victor S. Yarros)
Co-authored critique of Prohibition and its social/political effects.
Delivered speech 'Why I Am An Agnostic' (Columbus symposium)
Public symposium speech (later titled 'Why I Am An Agnostic') addressing skepticism, religion, and the meaning of agnosticism.
Debated G. K. Chesterton at New York's Mecca Temple
Public debate on 'Will the World Return to Religion?' (January 1931); Chesterton won the crowd vote 2,359–1,022 per contemporary accounts.
Took the Massie Trial (Hawaii) and other late-career cases
Defended Grace Fortescue and others in the widely publicized Massie murder case (1932); the defendants were convicted of manslaughter and sentences later commuted.
Published autobiography 'The Story of My Life'
Released his autobiographical volume recounting cases, ideas, and personal reflections.
Chair of National Recovery Administration Review Board
Called to Washington to chair NRA Review Board; he found the role uncomfortable and resigned after about a year.
Resigned NRA Review Board
Resigned from the National Recovery Administration Review Board after approximately one year in the position.
Ashes scattered over Jackson Park bridge
Per Darrow's request, his ashes were scattered over a small bridge (now called the Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge) just south of the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park, Chicago.
Died in Chicago of pulmonary heart disease
Clarence Darrow died at home in Chicago on March 13, 1938 (age recorded as 80 in some accounts; birth April 18, 1857). At his request friends scattered his ashes over a bridge in Jackson Park.
Irving Stone publishes 'Clarence Darrow for the Defense' (biography)
Notable posthumous popular biography of Darrow by Irving Stone (widely read and influential in shaping Darrow's public image).
Play 'Compulsion' (based on Leopold & Loeb) debuts
Play dramatizing the Leopold & Loeb case (Darrow served as inspiration for the defense character); later adapted to film (1959).
Film 'Compulsion' released (Orson Welles as Darrow-like lawyer)
Film adaptation of the Leopold & Loeb play featuring a Darrow-like defense attorney character.
TV film 'Darrow' (Kevin Spacey) produced
One-man-play/television adaptation of Darrow's reminiscences adapted for screen; part of Darrow's ongoing cultural legacy.
Play 'Clarence Darrow Tonight!' performed at Clinton's second inaugural
One-man performance by Laurence Luckinbill was performed at President Bill Clinton's second inaugural (piece won the ABA Silver Gavel Award in 1996).
Posthumous induction to Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
Darrow was posthumously inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame (induction date not specified in provided sources).
University/editions keep Darrow archives and reissues
Collections of Darrow's papers and reissues of trial arguments (e.g., 'Attorney for the Damned' editions) maintained and reissued by university presses and libraries; Darrow remains a subject of scholarship.
Statue of Darrow erected in Dayton, Tennessee (Scopes site)
A statue of Clarence Darrow was erected outside the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, TN (site of the 1925 Scopes Trial) on July 14, 2017, near a statue of William Jennings Bryan.
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