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Loeb, Richard A., 1905-1936

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1905 - 1936

Biography

Richard Albert Loeb was born 1905 June 11 in Chicago, Illinois, to parents Anna Henrietta (née Bohnen) and Albert Henry Loeb. He had three brothers: Allan Moritz Loeb, Ernest Loeb and Thomas Henry Loeb. His father Albert was a lawyer and former vice president of Sears, Roebuck & company. He grew up in the Kenwood neighborhood of South Side Chicago. He graduated from the University of Michigan at 17, and went on to pursue graduate studies in history at the University of Chicago. He gained notoriety when he and fellow wealthy University of Chicago student Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr (1904-1971), murdered Bobby Franks (age 14) in May of 1924. Lawyer Clarence Darrow was the lawyer for their defense and argued against the death penalty; both Leopold and Loeb pled guilty. They each received life imprisonment plus 99 years. Leopold was eventually released on parole, but Loeb was killed by another prisoner (James Day) in Stateville Penitentiary, Illinois, January 1936.

Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:

Elmer Gertz Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS97
Abstract Elmer Gertz (1906-2000) was a lawyer, author, professor, and civil rights advocate. He fought many legal battles relating to the death penalty, police brutality, housing equality, freedom of speech, and other civil liberties. Gertz played a role in some of the most famous legal cases of the second half of the 20th century. He helped secure parole for "thrill killer" Nathan Leopold, defended Henry Miller’s novel Tropic of Cancer in numerous obscenity...
Dates: 1909-1999

Harold S. Hulbert Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 55/23
Abstract

The Papers of psychiatrist Harold Hulbert include notes and correspondence pertaining to his examination of John Kammerer, a convicted murderer executed February 13, 1925; and statements, reports, and evidence Hulbert obtained as a consultant in the celebrated Leopold and Loeb murder case of 1924.

Dates: 1920-2013

Leopold and Loeb Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS85
Abstract Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. (November 19, 1904-August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (June 11, 1905-January 28, 1936), often referred to as "Leopold and Loeb", were privileged and wealthy teenage University of Chicago students who murdered 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in 1924 in a desire to commit the "perfect crime," and were sentenced to prison for 99 years plus a life term. Through correspondence, newspaper clippings, court documents, miscellanea, photographs, publications,...
Dates: 1894 - 1990; Other: Majority of material found within 1952 - 1971; Other: Date acquired: 11/30/1963

Richard Loeb Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS204
Abstract

The Richard Loeb Papers consist of 1 box and 1 oversize folder of correspondence, photographs, and miscellaneous biographical information dating 1886 to 1956 related to the Loeb family and the prosecution and incarceration of Richard Loeb and his friend Nathan Leopold following their May 1924 murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks.

Dates: 1886-1956