Milton Ridbas Konvitz (March 12, 1908 – September 5, 2003) was a

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

faculty member. He died September 5, 2003, at the age of 95.

Early life, education and early career

He was born in 1908 in

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, a city in what is now

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

that was then part of the

vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, and was the son of Rabbi Joseph Konvitz and grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky (Ridvaz). In 1915, he immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, becoming a citizen in 1926. He studied at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, where he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 1929 and in 1930 a law degree. In 1933, he received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Cornell. Prior to joining Cornell's faculty, he worked at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he was one of three assistant general counsels to

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

Academic career

Konvitz was a professor in Cornell's Law School and a founding faculty member of School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He retired in 1973. He was an authority on constitutional and labor law, and on civil and human rights, coining the term "civil liberties." He was famous for teaching a class called American Ideals at Cornell for many years; it was based in the College of Industrial and Labor Relations and regularly drew enrollments in the many hundreds, with the eventual total exceeding over 8,000. Young Ruth Bader, later Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

, was one of those students. Konvitz was one of the founders of Cornell's Department of Near Eastern Studies and of its Program of Jewish Studies. He and his wife, the former Mary Traub, often hosted Jewish students and others. A professorship in his name was dedicated with funds from former students and others; Ross Brann is the current Milton Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies.

Liberian Codification Project

Working with Chief Justice James A. A. Pierre of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Konvitz, for nearly 30 years, drew up the body of statutory laws in the

Republic of Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a ...

. He also edited the opinions of Liberia's Supreme Court. As a token of thanks for his work he received the Grand Band of the Order of the Star of Africa, as well as an honorary degree from the University of Liberia.

Personal life

Konvitz was married for over 50 years to the former Mary Traub. Their son Josef was a senior official of the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD), based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he lives with his wife, Isa. Their sons, Eli and Ezra, live in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

respectively, Eli a director at W S Atkins and Ezra having co-founded ArtStack. Josef Konvitz retired from the OECD in 2011, and was a visiting professor at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Published works

* A Century of Civil Rights * The Constitution and Civil Rights * Fundamental Liberties of a Free People: Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly * The American Pragmatists : Selected Writings edited by Milton Ridvas Konvitz * Judaism and Human Rights * Fundamental Rights * Emerson: A Collection of Critical Essays * Torah and Constitution: Essays in American Jewish Thought * The American Pragmatists, edited by Milton R. Konvitz and Gail Kennedy * The Alien and the Asiatic in American Law * Expanding Liberty: Freedom's Gains in Postwar America * Religious Liberty * Nine American Jewish Thinkers * Bill of Rights Reader: Leading Constitutional Cases * Judaism and the American Idea * Civil Rights in Immigration * The Legacy of Horace M. Kallen * First Amendment Freedoms: Selected Cases on Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly * On the Nature of Value: The Philosophy of Samuel Alexander * Aspects of Liberty: Essays Presented to Robert E. Cushman, by Milton R. Konvitz and Clinton Rossiter * The Recognition of Ralph Waldo Emerson * Essays in Political Theory * Liberian Code of Laws Revised * Profane Religion and Sacred Law

Books and articles about

* Rights, Liberties, and Ideals: The Contributions of Milton R. Konvitz, by David Joseph Danelski * Biography - Milton Ridvas Konvitz (1908–2003), from Contemporary Authors * Milton R. Konvitz, z"l.: from Midstream

References

External links

Cornell News Obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konvitz, Milton R. 1908 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American Jews American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Cornell University faculty Cornell University alumni Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States New York University School of Law alumni People associated with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund People from Safed