Harry Alonzo Cushing

Harry Cushing graduated from Amherst in 1891 and took M.A., LL.B., and Ph.D. degrees at Columbia, where he commenced teaching history and law in 1895. At the same time he racticed law in the City, retiring only some fifteen years ago.

He was Acting Dean of the Columbia Law School and professor of criminal law there in 1909, when he resigned because of a disagreement in methods. The incident attracted wide attention at the time; but the only permanent result was that Cushing gave up teaching, and devoted himself to law practice and research in American history. In this latter he was interested and very competent, and he published various historical essays and edited the works of Samuel Adams.

Cushing was an able jurist, and a historian of considerable gifts. He kept getting diverted from the library to the market place, where he was rather too passionate to be effective. He was handicapped by a deformity of the feet that made walking difficult, and sometimes it seemed as though this acerbated a disposition naturally somewhat choleric.

Of later years he was confined to a sanitarium; but fifteen years ago he was at the Club a great deal—especially in the evening—and he was first-class company, lively, informed, and convivial.

George W. MartinMember profile currently not available; contact Archivist for information on this Centurion
1956 Century Association Yearbook