Biography.guide
Home › People › Judge › Wolfgang Friedmann
Portrait of Wolfgang Friedmann

Wolfgang Friedmann

1907 – 1972

German American legal scholar

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Wolfgang Friedmann

Lived 1907 – 1972 (aged 65). Wolfgang Friedmann was a British, German and American judge, university teacher and jurist.

Wolfgang Gaston Friedmann (25 January 1907 – 20 September 1972) was a German American legal scholar. Specializing in international law, he was a faculty member at Columbia Law School.

Biography

Born in Berlin, Friedmann finished his studies of law at the Humboldt University of Berlin in 1930. Being Jewish, he immigrated to London in 1934, shortly after the Nazis' seizure of power in Germany. He obtained a University of London LLM, taught at University College London, became a British citizen in 1939 and served in the British Army during the Second World War.

He went as Professor to the University of Melbourne (1947-50) and then to the University of Toronto Law School (1950-55).

In 1955, he became a professor of international law at Columbia Law School, where he founded the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. In 1972, he was robbed and stabbed to death in front of Public School 36 at Amsterdam Avenue between 122d and 123d Streets near Columbia's campus in Manhattan. The Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award was established in his honor.

Selected bibliography 2nd ed. - 1971.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Employers
Columbia University, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Wolfgang Friedmann's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Wolfgang Friedmann?

German American legal scholar (1907–1972)

When was Wolfgang Friedmann born?

Wolfgang Friedmann was born on 25 January 1907 in Berlin.

When did Wolfgang Friedmann die?

Wolfgang Friedmann died on 20 September 1972 in New York City.

What was Wolfgang Friedmann's occupation?

Wolfgang Friedmann was a judge, university teacher and jurist.

What nationality was Wolfgang Friedmann?

Wolfgang Friedmann was British, German and American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Wolfgang Friedmann

· Wikidata: Q103099

· DBpedia: Wolfgang Friedmann

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Wolfgang Friedmann. https://biography.guide/wolfgang-friedmann/

MLA: "Wolfgang Friedmann." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/wolfgang-friedmann/.

Chicago: "Wolfgang Friedmann." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/wolfgang-friedmann/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:18 UTC