CHRONOLOGY
1917 -born in New Rochelle, NY. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania (part of the Russian Empire at the time)
1931 -graduated from New Rochelle High School at the age of 13
1931 -applied for admission to Columbia University and was accepted. (He ended up attending Brooklyn College because Columbia wanted him to wait a year before starting college.)
1935 -joined the socialist movement at the age of 18
1937 -graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in chemistry
1943-45 -wartime service in the U.S. Army in the Pacific as a communications specialist
1948 -moved to Chicago to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago
1948 -married Jennie Rosenberg
1949 -received Master's degree in history from the University of Chicago
1949 -spent time in Paris with Jennie, working on his doctoral dissertation
1951 -twin sons born - Jack and Neal
1952 -received high school teacher's license from the Chicago Board of Education
1953 -started teaching history at DuSable High School on Chicago's south side
1954 -moved from Hyde Park to South Shore (73rd and Yates Avenue)
1954 -third son born - Paul
1955 (?) -cofounded the Teachers Action Caucus (TAC) to help revitalize the Chicago Teachers Union
1958 -co-founded the annual Chicago Debs Day Dinner
1960/1 -Rainbow Beach integration effort
1961 -participated in the Freedom Rides
1962 -became Department Chair for Social Studies at DuSable High School
1963 -attended the March on Washington
1966 -became High School Vice-President for the Chicago Teachers Union
1966 -joined IVI/IPO State Board
1966 -joined the national board of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
1967 -started teaching history at Loop (now Harold Washington) College
1970 -ran for State Senator
1970 -became chapter chairman of the Loop College branch of the Cook County College Teachers Union, a post he held until 1986
1972 -alternate delegate - Democratic National Convention
1972 -moved to an apartment on South Shore Drive, where he and Jennie lived for the rest of their lives
1982 -became State Chairman of IVI-IPO (until 1984)
1983 -active in Harold Washington's mayoral campaign
1984 -alternate delegate - Democratic National Convention
1987 -retired from full-time teaching (against his will, due to legal requirements)
1988 -delegate for Jesse Jackson at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta
1988 -received the Thomas-Debs award at the 30th annual Thomas-Debs Day Dinner
1996 -helped Obama in his first State Senator campaign, including obtaining the endorsement of IVI-IPO
1998 -died of pancreatic cancer on March 13, 1998