Earl Grant Harrison (April 27, 1899 – July 28, 1955) was an American attorney,

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

, and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. He worked on behalf of

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

in the aftermath of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, when he brought attention to the plight of Jewish refugees in a report, commonly known as the Harrison Report, that he produced for President Harry S. Truman. He was Dean of the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...

from 1945 to 1948. He also had a distinguished career as an attorney in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

area and was a name partner in the law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP.

Early years

Harrison was born in the Frankford section of

, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 1899, the son of grocer Joseph Layland Harrison (born in England) and stock-company Scotch-Irish actress Anna MacMullen (born in Northern Ireland).https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7475&context=penn_law_review During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he was a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

of Infantry in 1918. He graduated from

Frankford High School Frankford High School is a public high school in the School District of Philadelphia. It is located at Oxford Avenue and Wakeling Street in the Frankford section of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frankford was founded in 1910 as an annex ...

and earned his A.B from

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

as a valedictorian in 1920, and his LLB from the

in 1923, where he was Case Editor of the ''

University of Pennsylvania Law Review The ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'' is a law review published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law journal in the United States, having been publishe ...

''. He practiced law at the firm of Saul, Ewing, Remick, and Saul from 1923 to 1945, becoming a partner in 1932. In 1944 he became Dean of the

Government career

Harrison served in the administration of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, first as Director of Alien Registration in the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

for six months from July 1940 to January 1941. He was the United States Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization from 1942 to 1944. During his tenure, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service experienced significant reform and restructuring following its transfer from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice.

Harrison Report

President Roosevelt appointed him the U.S. representative on the Intergovernmental Commission on Refugees on March 15, 1945. He became Vice-President of the University of Pennsylvania and dean of its law school the same year. On June 22,

President Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Frankli ...

asked Harrison to conduct an inspection tour of camps holding displaced persons (DPs) in Europe. He left in early July as the head of a small delegation that split up to visit more than two dozens camps for DPs. He produced a report on his findings dated August 24.

Later years

In the spring of 1946, Harrison testified on behalf of a black student denied admission to the University of Texas Law School and isolated in a one-student school in the case of '' Sweatt v. Painter'', a forerunner of ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

''. Harrison resigned as dean in 1948, effective August 31, when the University of Pennsylvania's board of trustees named Harold Stassen university president, a post for which Harrison had been considered a likely candidate. He joined the law firm of

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP is a U.S. law firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in Philadelphia in 1935 by former Pennsylvania Attorney General William A. Schnader, Bernard G. Segal, a former Deputy Attorney General serving ...

in 1948 as a name partner, where he worked until his death in 1955.Schnader Harrison: A Survivor at 75
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Other activities

Harrison was recognized for his unfailing responsiveness to the needs of the community and his dedication to public service. He was described by his contemporaries as "spare-framed, square-jawed, red haired," "a Roosevelt Republican," and "an almost indefatigable worker." In addition to his work for the United States government and his professional career, he was an officer and director of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and general campaign chairman of the Philadelphia United War Chest, a predecessor of the United Way. Harrison also served as director of the Philadelphia Area Council of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP. He was a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and of the University of Pennsylvania. He was considered for nomination as a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania in 1946. He died on July 28, 1955.

References

External links

* Harrison Report at Commons
Truman's letter to Eisenhower; Harrison Report on the Treatment of Displaced Jews

Larry Teitelbaum, "The Harrison Report: Post World War II Bombshell," ''Penn Law Journal'' (Spring 2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Earl G. Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Commissioners of the Immigration and Naturalization Service Displaced persons camps in the aftermath of World War II Activists for African-American civil rights Deans of law schools in the United States Pennsylvania lawyers University of Pennsylvania faculty Deans of University of Pennsylvania Law School Lawyers from Philadelphia 1899 births 1955 deaths University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni American civil rights lawyers