Clarence Seward Darrow was an attorney born on April 18th 1857. A leader of the American Civil Liberties Union, he became famous for representing John T. Scopes in the Scopes case and teen killers Loeb and Leopold in the trial for murdering Bobby Franks. Clarence Darrow is considered a ‘sophisticated country lawyer’ who was also known for his agnosticism and wit, which later made him one of the most prominent attorneys and civil libertarians in the United States. The Clarence Darrow Octagon House in Kinsman, Ohio was built in honor of him.

He was born to parents Emily Darrow, a supporter of women’s rights and female suffrage; and Amirus Darrow, an abolitionist and iconoclast. He studied at the University of Michigan Law School and Allegheny College, but was not able to graduate from both schools. In 1878, he was admitted to the Ohio bar.

As a writer, he wrote several papers that were collected and kept at the Library of Congress and at the University of Minnesota Law School’s Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center. He likewise had authored the following books: Resist Not Evil, Farmington, The Story of My Life, Persian Pearl, and Crime: Its Cause and Treatment.

After Clarence Darrow’s death, Darrow, a one-man play, was written about him and his recollections on his career. Henry Fonda was the first one to play the role, followed by other famous actors like Leslie Nielsen.