This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/26/anthony-lewis
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Anthony Lewis obituary | Anthony Lewis obituary |
| (4 months later) | |
| In December 2001, three months after the al-Qaida attacks of 9/11, Anthony Lewis wrote his last column for the New York Times, the paper he had served with august distinction for half a century – barring one short interval – as legal reporter, London bureau chief and columnist. In it, he anticipated the coarsening ideology and moral panic that afflicted the American government during the presidency of George W Bush. "The hard question," he wrote, "is whether our commitment to the law will survive the real sense of vulnerability that is with us after September 11." | In December 2001, three months after the al-Qaida attacks of 9/11, Anthony Lewis wrote his last column for the New York Times, the paper he had served with august distinction for half a century – barring one short interval – as legal reporter, London bureau chief and columnist. In it, he anticipated the coarsening ideology and moral panic that afflicted the American government during the presidency of George W Bush. "The hard question," he wrote, "is whether our commitment to the law will survive the real sense of vulnerability that is with us after September 11." |
| His commitment to the law in general, and the judges of the liberal tradition that is now, if not outmoded, at least on the defensive in the US, was never for one moment in question. He has died aged 85 after suffering renal and heart complications. | His commitment to the law in general, and the judges of the liberal tradition that is now, if not outmoded, at least on the defensive in the US, was never for one moment in question. He has died aged 85 after suffering renal and heart complications. |
| A protege of Justice Felix Frankfurter, an admirer of Chief Justice Earl Warren and the chronicler of the great achievements of the Warren supreme court of 1953-69 in championing the rights of the poor and African Americans, Lewis had the unusual distinction, for a reporter, of changing the law. His books were cited by judges in their opinions and became classics for generations of law students. | A protege of Justice Felix Frankfurter, an admirer of Chief Justice Earl Warren and the chronicler of the great achievements of the Warren supreme court of 1953-69 in championing the rights of the poor and African Americans, Lewis had the unusual distinction, for a reporter, of changing the law. His books were cited by judges in their opinions and became classics for generations of law students. |
| A quiet, thoughtful man rather than a firebrand, he was polite and almost dapper in his appearance. But he was utterly firm in his belief in the importance of the law in general and of judicial wisdom and in particular of the first amendment to the US constitution. Lewis upheld the amendment's assurance that: "Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of the press." However, he insisted that it should not make journalists above the law. They should protect their sources, he characteristically opined, not as a matter of law but "as a matter of honour". | A quiet, thoughtful man rather than a firebrand, he was polite and almost dapper in his appearance. But he was utterly firm in his belief in the importance of the law in general and of judicial wisdom and in particular of the first amendment to the US constitution. Lewis upheld the amendment's assurance that: "Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of the press." However, he insisted that it should not make journalists above the law. They should protect their sources, he characteristically opined, not as a matter of law but "as a matter of honour". |
| Lewis was born in New York City. He attended the elite private Horace Mann school, in the Bronx, and in 1948 graduated from Harvard College and started work at the New York Times. | Lewis was born in New York City. He attended the elite private Horace Mann school, in the Bronx, and in 1948 graduated from Harvard College and started work at the New York Times. |
| After four years, he left and joined the now defunct tabloid the Washington Daily News. But by 1955 he was back at the Times, now in its Washington bureau, and won his first Pulitzer prize, the "blue riband" of American journalism. This was for his sympathetic account, while still at the News, of the case of Abraham Chasanow, a navy department official who had been a victim of the red-baiting of the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy – not that that bibulous senator was alone or even unusual in his enthusiasm for persecuting those suspected of leftist opinions. | After four years, he left and joined the now defunct tabloid the Washington Daily News. But by 1955 he was back at the Times, now in its Washington bureau, and won his first Pulitzer prize, the "blue riband" of American journalism. This was for his sympathetic account, while still at the News, of the case of Abraham Chasanow, a navy department official who had been a victim of the red-baiting of the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy – not that that bibulous senator was alone or even unusual in his enthusiasm for persecuting those suspected of leftist opinions. |
| James "Scotty" Reston, the head of the Times's Washington bureau, picked Lewis out to cover the supreme court, then at the centre of American politics because of its historic 1954 decision in the case of Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, the decision that outlawed segregation and can be viewed as eventually touching off the civil rights revolution. Lewis won his second Pulitzer (1963) for his coverage of the supreme court, with special reference to Baker v Carr, the case that established the principle of "one man, one vote". | James "Scotty" Reston, the head of the Times's Washington bureau, picked Lewis out to cover the supreme court, then at the centre of American politics because of its historic 1954 decision in the case of Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, the decision that outlawed segregation and can be viewed as eventually touching off the civil rights revolution. Lewis won his second Pulitzer (1963) for his coverage of the supreme court, with special reference to Baker v Carr, the case that established the principle of "one man, one vote". |
| When John Kennedy entered the White House and appointed his younger brother Robert as attorney general, Lewis became a respected figure "on the New Frontier", as the Kennedy circle liked to be known. He and his wife, Linda, were slightly incongruous regulars at Robert and Ethel Kennedy's rowdy parties at their large house, Hickory Hill, in Virginia. | When John Kennedy entered the White House and appointed his younger brother Robert as attorney general, Lewis became a respected figure "on the New Frontier", as the Kennedy circle liked to be known. He and his wife, Linda, were slightly incongruous regulars at Robert and Ethel Kennedy's rowdy parties at their large house, Hickory Hill, in Virginia. |
| Gideon's Trumpet (1964) was Lewis's account of the case of Gideon v Wainwright, the story of a petty thief that established the rights of the accused in criminal cases. The book is credited with leading to the creation of the office of "public defender", which guaranteed legal representation for poor people. | Gideon's Trumpet (1964) was Lewis's account of the case of Gideon v Wainwright, the story of a petty thief that established the rights of the accused in criminal cases. The book is credited with leading to the creation of the office of "public defender", which guaranteed legal representation for poor people. |
| In 1965 Reston sent Lewis to London as bureau chief. He and Linda loved the city and entered enthusiastically into the more respectable aspects of swinging London. In 1972, Reston wanted to promote Lewis to what amounted to the number two job on the Times. When that fell through, he was given what is often an ex-editor's consolation prize, a regular column. Lewis wrote with authority, erudition and grace for more than a quarter of a century. | In 1965 Reston sent Lewis to London as bureau chief. He and Linda loved the city and entered enthusiastically into the more respectable aspects of swinging London. In 1972, Reston wanted to promote Lewis to what amounted to the number two job on the Times. When that fell through, he was given what is often an ex-editor's consolation prize, a regular column. Lewis wrote with authority, erudition and grace for more than a quarter of a century. |
| After his return to the US, Lewis became a greatly respected but always approachable figure in Cambridge, the Boston suburb that is home to Harvard and MIT. His marriage to Linda broke up, and in 1984 he married Margaret Marshall, a judge on the Massachusetts supreme judicial court, of which in 1999 she became chief justice. | After his return to the US, Lewis became a greatly respected but always approachable figure in Cambridge, the Boston suburb that is home to Harvard and MIT. His marriage to Linda broke up, and in 1984 he married Margaret Marshall, a judge on the Massachusetts supreme judicial court, of which in 1999 she became chief justice. |
| He continued to write books. Make No Law (1991) was a history of the case of Sullivan v New York Times and its impact on first amendment and libel law. His last, Freedom for the Thought That We Hate (2008), was a "biography" of that amendment. In 2010 Lewis was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and Margaret resigned from the court. | He continued to write books. Make No Law (1991) was a history of the case of Sullivan v New York Times and its impact on first amendment and libel law. His last, Freedom for the Thought That We Hate (2008), was a "biography" of that amendment. In 2010 Lewis was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and Margaret resigned from the court. |
| She survives him, as do his children, Eliza, David and Mia, from his first marriage. | She survives him, as do his children, Eliza, David and Mia, from his first marriage. |
| • Joseph Anthony Lewis, journalist and author, born 27 March 1927; died 25 March 2013 | • Joseph Anthony Lewis, journalist and author, born 27 March 1927; died 25 March 2013 |
| • This article was amended on 27 March 2013. The historic 1954 case was Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, rather than Brown v School Board of Topeka. | • This article was amended on 27 March 2013. The historic 1954 case was Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, rather than Brown v School Board of Topeka. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |