Frisch, Morton J. 1923-2006

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born January 26, 1923, in Chicago, IL; died of pulmonary fibrosis, December 24, 2006, in DeKalb, IL. Philosopher, educator, and author. A retired professor at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb was widely noted as a scholar of the history of political philosophy. After completing high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in England, where he assisted in antiaircraft defense during World War II. He then saw action in Belgium and the Battle of the Bulge, for which service he was awarded that country’s Croix de Guerre. Returning home, he attended Roosevelt University on the G.I. Bill. He completed his B.A. in 1949, then attended the University of Chicago, where he was influenced by Leo Strauss, a political philosopher who was on the faculty there. Earning an M.A., he then went to Pennsylvania State University for his Ph.D., graduating in 1953. His first faculty position was at the College of William and Mary, where he was an assistant professor until 1961, and an associate professor of government for the next three years. Frisch joined the Northern Illinois University faculty in 1964, where he established a graduate program in political theory and became respected for his work in the history of political philosophy. Becoming a full professor of political science in 1966, Frisch continued to build his department, helping to draw in noted scholars in the field to its faculty. He retired in 1992, but continued to teach graduate seminars for several more years. Frisch wrote and edited nine books, including Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Contribution of the New Deal to American Political Thought and Practice (1975) and Alexander Hamilton and the Political Order: An Interpretation of His Political Thought and Practice (1990). His last book was scheduled to be published posthumously.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, January 13, 2007, Section 3, p. 7.