William Sanger

William Sanger (November 12, 1873 – July 23, 1961) was a German-born and American-educated architect and artist. An activist in the radical movement during the first decades of the 20th century, Sanger is best known as the first husband of birth control activist Margaret Sanger and as the defendant in a high-profile 1915 New York obscenity trial for distributing a birth control information pamphlet.

Early life and education Born in Berlin, Germany, Sanger came from a devoutly Jewish family which moved to the United States in about 1878.

He was educated in architecture from 1893 to 1895 at The Cooper Union in New York City. He later studied architecture at Atelier Masquery and the Society Beaux-Arts Architects. Sanger was further educated in painting at the Art Students League of New York and the Artists-Artisans Institute.

Personal life and activism Sanger married Margaret Sanger (née Higgins) on August 18, 1902. Together they joined the Socialist Party of New York and were involved in labor actions such as the 1913 Paterson silk strike. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for New York City Board of Aldermen in 1911, coming in a distant third place.

William Sanger was arrested January 19, 1915, for handing out a copy of Margaret Sanger's 1914 pamphlet on birth control, Family Limitation. In a statement before the Court of Special Sessions in New York City on September 10, 1915, William Sanger identified emotionally with his wife's work and referred to Anthony Comstock as a victim of "incurable sexophobia" who lacked "the intelligence to distinguish between pornography and scientific information."