Harold J. Berman

Harold Joseph Berman ( born February 13, 1918 in Hartford ( Connecticut ), † 13 November, 2007 New York) was an American legal historian and philosopher of law.

Life

Berman studied at Dartmouth College, Yale University and at the London School of Economics. He taught from 1948 to 1985 as a professor at Harvard University. In Germany it was mainly through his book Law and Revolution. Announced the formation of the Western legal tradition. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been awarded three honorary doctorates. With his wife, Ruth Harlow Berman he had four children: Stephen, Jean, Susanna ( living as a painter in Ephesus) and John ( works as a music teacher in Sao Paulo).

Publications

• The formation of the Western legal tradition. Cambridge 1983.
• The interaction of law and religion. Nashville 1974.
• The nature and functions of law. An introduction for students of the arts and sciences. Brooklyn in 1958.
• With Miroslav Kerner: Soviet military law and administration. Cambridge 1955.
• Justice in Russia. An interpretation of Soviet law. Cambridge 1950.