Sigmund Zeisler (1860-1931) was a German-Jewish U.S. attorney born in Austria and known for his defense of radicals in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in the 1880s. His wife was the famed concert pianist

Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler (July 16, 1863 – August 20, 1927) was an Austrian-born U.S. pianist. Biography Zeisler was born Fannie Blumenfeld on July 16, 1863, in Bielitz, Austrian Silesia, to Jewish parents. She emigrated to the United States ...

Childhood, marriage and legal education

Sigmund Zeisler was born in

Bielitz Bielsko (german: Bielitz, cs, Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that to ...

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

in 1860. He began his education at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich h ...

and emigrated to Chicago in 1883. Zeisler graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

in 1884.

Personal life

In 1885 he married his second cousin Fannie Bloomfield, sister of philologist

Maurice Bloomfield Maurice Bloomfield, Ph.D., LL.D. (February 23, 1855 – June 12, 1928) was an Austrian-born American philologist and Sanskrit scholar. Biography He was born Maurice Blumenfeld in Bielitz ( pl, Bielsko), in what was at that time Austria ...

and the aunt of linguist

Leonard Bloomfield Leonard Bloomfield (April 1, 1887 – April 18, 1949) was an American linguist who led the development of structural linguistics in the United States during the 1930s and the 1940s. He is considered to be the father of American distributionalis ...

. The Zeislers had three sons: Leonard Bloomfield Zeisler, Paul Bloomfield Zeisler, and Ernest Bloomfield Zeisler (married to

Claire Zeisler Claire Zeisler (April 18, 1903 – September 30, 1991) was an American fiber artist who expanded the expressive qualities of knotted and braided threads, pioneering large-scale freestanding sculptures in this medium. Throughout her career Zeisle ...

). After Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler's death in 1927, Zeisler married Amelia Spellman in 1930. He died in 1931.

Professional career

In 1886-1887, Zeisler was co-counsel for the defendants in the

Anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

cases, popularly known as the Haymarket cases. Zeisler was a progressive and was a member of the

American Anti-Imperialist League The American Anti-Imperialist League was an organization established on June 15, 1898, to battle the American annexation of the Philippines as an insular area. The anti-imperialists opposed forced expansion, believing that imperialism violated t ...

, the Municipal Voters' League, and the Civil Service Reform Association. Zeisler was a writer and lectured on legal topics. Zeisler was a member of th
Chicago Literary Club
The Little Room, Book and Play and the

Cliff Dwellers Club The Cliff Dwellers Club is a private civic arts organization in Chicago, Illinois. The Club was founded in 1907 by Chicago author Hamlin Garland as "The Attic Club", On January 18, 1909, the name was formally changed to The Cliff Dwellers. In 1908 ...

Cases

* The Haymarket trials
HEATH & MILLIGAN MFG CO. v. WORST
207 U.S. 338 (1907) regarding lead-based paint.

Publications

* Zeisler, Sigmund "The Legal and Moral Aspects of Abortion," remarks at the 1910 meeting of the Chicago Gynecological Society, printed in the Journal of Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Vol. 10, p. 539. *Zeisler, Sigmund Reminiscences Of The Anarchist Case Chicago Literary Club 1927 1st Wraps, very good, 40pp, 1/570. PBhttp://www.beasleybooks.com/store/BOOKS012401I.htm

Notes

External links

*

Newberry Library Chicago
Jewish Encyclopedia article
Affidavit of Sigmund Zeisler (Cctober 1, 1886) *Zeisler, Ernest Bloomfel

The Nation ''book review'' (1956)
Photo of Zeisler
Chicago Historical Assn. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeisler, Sigmund 1860 births 1931 deaths People from Austrian Silesia People from Bielsko Lawyers from Chicago Austrian Jews Jews and Judaism in Chicago American people of Austrian-Jewish descent