Frederic René Coudert
American lawyer at Coudert Brothers who served as a special assistant U.S. Attorney General and legal adviser to the British Embassy during World War I, and was a Columbia University trustee for over four decades.
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- Established
- 1871
- Location
- Manhattan, New York, United States
- Country
- United States
- Born
- February 11, 1871, Manhattan, New York
- Died
- April 1, 1955, Manhattan, New York
- Education
- Columbia University (graduated 1890) and Columbia Law School (graduated 1891); admitted to the New York Bar in 1892
- Wartime roles
- Special assistant U.S. Attorney General and legal adviser to the British Embassy, both 1915-1920
- Columbia University
- Trustee, 1912-1954
- Publication
- Author of "Certainty and Justice" (1913)
Overview
Frederic René Coudert (11 February 1871 – 1 April 1955) was an American lawyer, the son of Frederic René Coudert Sr., a co-founder of the New York law firm Coudert Brothers. He graduated from Columbia University in 1890 and Columbia Law School in 1891, and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1892 (Jane Addams Digital Edition; The Century Association Biographical Archive).
Note on identity: this is a different person from the U.S. congressman sometimes referred to as “Frederic Coudert Jr.” (1898–1972). This profile concerns only the lawyer described here, confirmed by his 1871–1955 birth and death years.
Wartime service and public life
Between 1915 and 1920, Coudert simultaneously served as a special assistant U.S. Attorney General and as legal adviser to the British Embassy in Washington, representing the British Crown in Public Trustee cases arising from WWI-era maritime law (Jane Addams Digital Edition). In 1916, he toured the country with Henry L. Stimson advocating military preparedness ahead of U.S. entry into the war (The Century Association Biographical Archive). He later championed American membership in the League of Nations, and in 1940 was an original member of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies (The Century Association Biographical Archive).
Columbia University and reform work
Coudert served as a Columbia University trustee from 1912 to 1954, and in 1913 published “Certainty and Justice.” He was also active in Progressive-era criminal-justice reform, serving on the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology’s Crime and Immigration Committee alongside social reformer Jane Addams (Jane Addams Digital Edition).
Social and club life
In 1902, at age 31, Coudert was elected a member of New York’s Century Association, proposed by Joseph H. Choate and Edward Patterson; the association’s own archive notes he went on to belong to “an astonishing number of clubs” across Paris, Washington and New York (The Century Association Biographical Archive). He died in Manhattan on 1 April 1955, at age 84.
What this profile does not claim
This profile relies on an academic digital-humanities archive and a private club’s own biographical archive; it does not independently verify every club membership referenced in general terms by the Century Association’s records, and does not cover the unrelated 20th-century congressman who shares a similar name.
Timeline
- 1871-02-11
- Born in Manhattan, New York, son of Coudert Brothers co-founder Frederic René Coudert Sr.
- 1890-1891
- Graduates from Columbia University and then Columbia Law School.
- 1892
- Admitted to the New York Bar.
- 1902-06-07
- Elected a member ("Centurion") of the Century Association in New York, proposed by Joseph H. Choate and Edward Patterson.
- 1912
- Becomes a trustee of Columbia University, a position he holds until 1954.
- 1913
- Publishes "Certainty and Justice."
- 1915-1920
- Serves simultaneously as a special assistant U.S. Attorney General and as legal adviser to the British Embassy in Washington on WWI-era maritime law matters, including representing the British Crown in Public Trustee cases.
- 1916
- Tours the country with Henry L. Stimson advocating military preparedness ahead of U.S. entry into World War I.
- 1940
- Becomes an original member of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.
- 1955-04-01
- Dies in Manhattan, New York, at age 84.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- This profile does not independently confirm every club membership attributed to him by the Century Association's own archive beyond the Century Association itself, which describes him as having "belonged to an astonishing number of clubs" without listing them individually.
- A distinct person, the U.S. congressman sometimes referred to as "Frederic Coudert Jr." (1898-1972), is not the same individual as this profile's subject; this profile does not cover that congressman.
Sources
2 sources (1 tier 1, 1 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
The Jane Addams Digital Edition (a Ramapo College academic digital-humanities project) and the Century Association's biographical archive were each fetched and read in full. Both are independent of Coudert and his firm — one an academic archival project, the other a private social club's own historical membership records, used here only for biographical and career facts, not editorial characterization.
- Coudert, Frederic René (1871-1955) Supports: His birth and death dates, education, admission to the New York Bar, his roles as special assistant Attorney General and British Embassy legal adviser, his Columbia trusteeship, his authorship of "Certainty and Justice," and his service alongside Jane Addams on the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology's Crime and Immigration Committee.
- Frederic R. Coudert Supports: His birth and death locations, his Columbia University and Columbia Law School graduation years, his 1902 Century Association election and proposers, his 1916 preparedness tour with Henry L. Stimson, and his 1940 membership in the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.
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