Benjamin Kaplan facts for kids

Benjamin Kaplan (born April 11, 1911, died August 18, 2010) was an important American legal expert. He was a scholar, meaning he studied and taught law. He was also a jurist, which means he was a judge. Kaplan helped create the rules for the famous Nuremberg trials. These trials brought Nazi war criminals to justice after World War II. He also helped change important rules about how lawsuits work in the United States.

Early Life and Learning

Benjamin Kaplan grew up in the South Bronx area of New York City. He was a very bright student. He finished DeWitt Clinton High School when he was only 14 years old. After that, he went to City College. He graduated from college in 1929 at the age of 18. Then, he studied law at Columbia Law School, finishing in 1933. Before joining the Army in 1942, he worked as a lawyer.

A Career in Law

Helping at the Nuremberg Trials

In 1945, Benjamin Kaplan was a high-ranking officer in the Army. He joined the team that was preparing cases against Nazi war criminals. Kaplan helped research and plan the legal strategies for these important trials. These trials were held to hold people accountable for terrible actions during World War II.

Teaching Law at Harvard

In 1947, Kaplan became a professor at Harvard Law School. He taught law there for many years. He was known for his work on copyright law. Copyright law protects things like books, music, and art. He wrote one of the first important books about copyright law in 1960. This book was called An Unhurried View of Copyright.

Influencing Future Judges

Many of Kaplan's students at Harvard became very famous. Two of them became Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. These were Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. Justice Breyer's ideas about copyright law were influenced by Kaplan's teachings. Other important students included scholar Cass Sunstein and lawyer Marjorie Heins.

Serving as a Judge

Benjamin Kaplan also served as a judge. He was a judge on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. This is the highest court in the state of Massachusetts. He served there from 1972 to 1981. Later, he also served on the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Family Life

In 1942, Benjamin Kaplan married Felicia Lamport. She was a writer known for her funny political writings. They had two children together. Felicia passed away in 1999.

Later Years

Benjamin Kaplan passed away on August 18, 2010. He was 99 years old and died from pneumonia. He died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Many people wrote tributes to him. These included Justices Breyer and Ginsburg, showing how much he was respected.