Robert Laughlin Pierson
{{Short description|Episcopal cleric (1926–1997)}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = The Reverend
| name = Robert Laughlin Pierson
| image = Robert Laughlin Pierson mugshot.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = 1961 mugshot after Pierson's arrest in Jackson, Mississippi
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|3|9}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|4|13|1926|3|9}}
| death_place = Saint Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
| nationality =
| education = {{unbulleted list|Lawrence University|University of Wisconsin|Nashotah House (MDiv)}}
| organization =
| occupation = {{hlist|Episcopal clergyman}}
| years_active =
| known_for = Freedom Rider
| movement = {{hlist|Civil rights}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Ann Clark Rockefeller|1955|1966|reason=divorced}}
| children =
}}
Robert Laughlin Pierson (1926–1997) was an Episcopal clergyman and Freedom Rider and a named appellant in Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547 (1967).
Life
He was born in Chicago on March 9, 1926.
He graduated from Lawrence University, the University of Wisconsin, and Nashotah House with a master of divinity (MDiv).{{cite news|last=Saxon|first=Wolfgang|title=Robert Pierson, Episcopal Priest, 71, Is Dead|work=The New York Times|page=10|date=29 April 1997|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/29/nyregion/robert-pierson-episcopal-priest-71-is-dead.html}}
He served at St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church.
In 1961, he was arrested at Jackson, Mississippi, with the Freedom Riders. Pierson was among the litigants who pursued damages against the police based on the Civil Rights Act of 1871 and was the named appellant in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case, Pierson v. Ray which found that the police had Qualified Immunity, and rejected Pierson's claims.{{cite web |last1=Court |first1=United States Supreme |title=386 US 547 Pierson v. J L Ray J L Ray |url=https://openjurist.org/386/us/547 |accessdate=30 June 2020 |pages=547 |language=en |date=11 January 1967|volume=US |issue=386 }}
He died from a heart attack at the age of 71 on April 13, 1997, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Family
In 1955, he married Ann Clark Rockefeller, daughter of Nelson Rockefeller. They divorced in 1966.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Society/freedom_rides/Freedom%20Riders%E2%80%99%20Reunion%20-%20roll%20call.htm Freedom Riders]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierson, Robert Laurence}}
Category:Lawrence University alumni