Alexander Meiklejohn

Alexander Meiklejohn (February 1, 1872—December 17, 1964) was a philosopher, university administrator, and free-speech advocate. He served as dean of Brown University and president of Amherst College. Meiklejohn was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England of Scottish descent, being the youngest of eight sons. When he was eight, the family moved to the United States, settling in Rhode Island. Family members pooled their money to send him to school. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Brown and completed his doctorate in philosophy at Cornell in 1897. At Brown he was a member of Theta Delta Chi. In the same year, he began teaching at Brown. In 1901 he became dean of the school, a position he held for twelve years. The...