Ezra Ripley Thayer (February 21, 1866 – September 14, 1915) was an attorney, Dane Professor of Law, and Dean of the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

from 1910 to 1915.

Early life

Ezra Ripley Thayer was born in

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

on February 21, 1866 to Harvard Law School professor

James Bradley Thayer James Bradley Thayer (January 15, 1831 – February 14, 1902) was an American legal theorist and educator. Life Born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard College in 1852, where he established the overcoat fund for needy under ...

, and Sophia Bradford (Ripley) Thayer. His oldest brother William Sydney Thayer became a professor of medicine. He attended public schools in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, and studied abroad with a tutor for a year in Athens, Greece. Upon his return, he entered

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

with the class of 1888. After graduation, Thayer attended

, where he graduated with an LL.B. in 1891. He married Ethel Randolph Clark on June 23, 1898 and had three children: James Bradley Thayer (1899–1976), Eleanor Arnold Thayer (1902–1923), and

Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (a diminutive of Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina, Polona, Paula or Paulina. People named or nicknamed Polly Female *Caresse Crosby ...

(1904–2006).

Law career

Thayer served as Secretary to Justice

Horace Gray Horace Gray (March 24, 1828 – September 15, 1902) was an American jurist who served on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and then on the United States Supreme Court, where he frequently interpreted the Constitution in ways that increa ...

, U.S. Supreme Court in 1892. He practiced law in Boston with the firm of Brandeis, Dunbar, and Nutter from 1893–1900. Then, from 1900–1910 he moved to the Boston firm of Storey, Thorndike, Palmer and Thayer. In 1910, Thayer was appointed as Dean of

, succeeding

James Barr Ames James Barr Ames (June 22, 1846 – January 8, 1910) was an American law educator, who popularized the "case-study" method of teaching law. Biography Ames was born in Boston, Massachusetts on June 22, 1846; son of Samuel T. and Mary H. (Barr) Am ...

, who had died in January of that year. In 1913, he declined an offer to be appointed to the

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...

. Suffering from acute depression, he is thought to have committed suicide at the age of 49. After two days of being missing, his body was found in the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

Connection to Cole Porter

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, the famous American songwriter, was enrolled in

in 1913. Porter did not take to the study of law. Porter met with Thayer, who was Dean at the time. Thayer suggested that Porter should switch schools and instead enroll at Harvard's music school, which was obviously Porter's true calling. Porter took Thayer's advice and secretly transferred to the music program.Shaftel, Matthew. "From Inspiration to Archive: Cole Porter's 'Night and Day'", ''Journal of Music Theory'', Duke University Press, Volume 43, No. 2 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 315, 318 accessed August 16, 2013 (subscriptionrequired)

Early life

Law career

Connection to Cole Porter

See also

References

Further reading