Harvard Law School Deans throughout history

Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Since its founding, 11 people have officially served as Dean. They are:


1870 – 1895, Christopher Columbus Langdell	1895 – 1910, James Barr Ames	1910 – 1915, Ezra Ripley Thayer

1916 – 1936, Roscoe Pound	1937 – 1946, James McCauley Landis	1946 – 1967, Erwin Nathaniel Griswold

1968 – 1971, Derek Curtis Bok	1971 – 1981, Albert Martin Sacks	1981 – 1989, James Vorenberg

1989 – 2003, Robert C. Clark	2003 – 2009, Elena Kagan	July 1, 2009 –, Martha Minow

Several individuals have also served as acting dean at one time or another. They are: Samuel Williston (1909-10), Austin Wakeman Scott (1915-16), Edward Henry Warren (1921-22), Joseph Warren (1925-26 and 1929), Joseph Henry Beale (1929-30), Edmund Morris Morgan (1936-37, 1942-45), Robert Amory, Jr. (1948), Livingston Hall (1959), Andrew James Casner (1967-68), and Howell E. Jackson (2009).

Harvard Law School Deans throughout history

Teaching