Philip B. Perlman (March 5, 1890,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

– July 31, 1960) was a Baltimore native, the son of Benjamin and Rose Nathan Perlman. Graduating from

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

secondary school in 1908, Perlman worked as a reporter for the ''

Baltimore American The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...

'' while studying political economy at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. He studied law at the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...

, being admitted to the bar one year prior to receiving a law degree in 1912. He began working for '' The Evening Sun'' in 1910, first as a court reporter, and then as City Editor from 1913–1917. It was probably at this time that he got to know

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

. Leaving newspaper work in 1917, Perlman began many years of public service, interspersed with private law practice. Initially he worked under then

Attorney General of Maryland The Attorney General of the State of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qual ...

, Albert C. Ritchie, as an assistant in the State Law Department, then became Assistant

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Attorney General in 1918. With Ritchie's election to the Maryland governorship in 1919, he appointed Perlman Secretary of State. Legislation drafted by Perlman included the bill providing for women's voting. In the 1920s, Perlman was City Solicitor of Baltimore and established a private law practice; in the 1930s he served on a commission to revise city zoning laws and on the first Maryland Water Resources Commission; in the 1940s he advised Governor William Preston Lane, Jr. on issues such as the

Chesapeake Bay Bridge The Chesapeake Bay Bridge (also known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, Eastern Shore regio ...

construction and highway improvement. In Perlman's private law practice, he was noted for

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

cases. Moving to the level of national politics, Perlman became the first Jewish

U.S. Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

, serving from 1947–1952 under President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, where he chaired Truman's Commission on Immigration and Naturalization, and was noted for helping to write the 1948 and 1960 platforms for the Democratic National Convention. At the time of his death, Perlman maintained a law practice with the firm Perlman, Lyons and Emmerglick in Washington, D.C., was president of the board of trustees of the

Walters Art Gallery The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

in Baltimore, and a member of the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...

. He was also a member of the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

and the Associated Jewish Charities. A bachelor, he had a home on

Park Heights Avenue Maryland Route 129 (MD 129) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, running north-northwesterly from U.S. Route 40 (US 40) and MD 295 in Baltimore into Baltimore County, ending at Garrison Forest Road east of Reisterstown. The route l ...

in Baltimore, and a suite at the

Shoreham Hotel The Omni Shoreham Hotel is a historic resort and convention hotel in Northwest Washington, D.C., built in 1930 and owned by Omni Hotels. It is located one block west of the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Calvert Street. The hotel is known ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

References

Official DOJ biography

External links

Philip Perlman papers
at the

University of Maryland libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perlman, Philip 1890 births 1960 deaths United States Solicitors General Maryland lawyers Politicians from Baltimore University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Secretaries of State of Maryland American Jews Baltimore City College alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers