Edmund N. Carpenter, II (1921–2008) was president of Richards, Layton & Finger, a law firm. He studied at Princeton

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, where he established the Edward N. Carpenter, II professorship, and at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. He earned a Bronze Star for his service in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and was a past president of the Delaware Bar Association. Carpenter died on December 19, 2008.

Essays

In 1938, while a 17-year old student in Lawrenceville, N.J., Carpenter wrote an essay entitled "Before I die...", setting out the things he hoped to achieve in his life. The essay was read at his 2008 funeral by one his daughters, Lea Carpenter. The essay achieved some acclaim, and was later reprinted in several newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal.

External links

• Citation for Professionalism Award, 2003
• First Hand Account of Meeting with Edmund Carpenter II, by Daphne Oz
• Before I Die Essay, in Wall Street Journal
• Obituary at American Judicature Society