Leo Koch

Leo Francis Koch (February 8, 1916 – November 14, 1982) was an American academic. An Assistant Professor of biology at the University of Illinois, he was fired for promoting premarital sex.

Early life Leo Francis Koch was born on February 8, 1916, in Dickinson, North Dakota. He received a master's degree and a PhD in Biology from the University of Michigan.

As a result, David Dodds Henry, the President of the University of Illinois, fired him. The firing and Koch's subsequent battle to be reinstated became a sensation in the press. Illinois was censured by the American Association of University Professors for the ouster. Koch appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States, which both refused to grant him a hearing.

Following his dismissal from Illinois, Koch met free love advocate Jefferson Poland, and together they founded the Sexual Freedom League in New York City.

According to reference below, he landed a position at Blake College, a small liberal arts school on the outskirts of Mexico City, where he edited Mushroom Digest, a bulletin on growing mushrooms. When he left the U of Illinois, he left behind all his plant research, including an incredible collection of more than 8,000 plant samples. With help from other experts around the country, U of I have identified much of the collection but a third of the liverworts and hornworts have not yet been identified.

Personal life Koch was married. He had two sons and a daughter.