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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 1 Collection or Record:

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