Roger Nash Baldwin
American activist
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Born: Jan. 21, 1884, Wellesley, Mass., U.S. Died: Aug. 26, 1981, Ridgewood, N.J. (aged 97) Founder: American Civil Liberties Union Role In: American civil rights movement
Roger Nash Baldwin (born Jan. 21, 1884, Wellesley, Mass., U.S.—died Aug. 26, 1981, Ridgewood, N.J.) was an American civil-rights activist, cofounder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Born into an aristocratic Massachusetts family, Baldwin attended Harvard University (B.A., 1904; M.A., 1905). He then taught sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. (1906–09), and also served as chief probation officer of the city’s Juvenile Court (1907–10) and secretary of the reformist Civic League of St. Louis (1910–17). When the United States entered World War I, Baldwin became head of the pacifist American Union Against Militarism (predecessor of the ACLU), which defended draft resisters and conscientious objectors; in 1918–19 he spent nine months in jail for refusing to be drafted. Afterward, he wandered about for a year, joining the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and finally ending up in New York City in 1920 to help found the ACLU. He was its director (1920–50) and then its national chairman (1950–55).
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