Clarence Darrow (April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He was the son of Eddy and Amirus Darrow, a furniture manufacturer and dealer Amirus Darrow had originally trained as a minister,but just before his ordination he experienced a crisis of faith that led him to question the existence of God and the notion of life after death. Darrow briefly attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, then taught school for several years before enrolling at the University of Michigan Law School. He is known for the famous trials he worked on like the Scopes trial about teaching evolution in schools, and the Leopold and Loeb murder trial. Sometimes he was called a "sophisticated country lawyer". His humor during trials, and his willingness to support civil rights, made him a famous lawyer. Darrow spent the remaining years of his life in near seclusion. He died of heart disease at the age of eighty, respected by some and despised by others as a colorful rebel who was always willing to take on unpopular causes in the firm belief that they were the right ones to back-regardless of their impact on his career and his finances.
