# Hans Zeisel

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hans_Zeisel
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hans_Zeisel.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Zeisel
> Source revision: 1334758983
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Austrian-born American lawyer

Hans Zeisel

**Hans Zeisel** (September 1, 1905 – March 7, 1992) was an Austrian-American sociologist and legal scholar who taught at the [University of Chicago Law School](/source/University_of_Chicago_Law_School) from 1953 to 1974. He was best known for using quantitative social science techniques to study the law.[1]

## Early life and education

Zeisel was born in [Kadaň](/source/Kada%C5%88), [Bohemia](/source/Bohemia) in 1905, and soon afterward moved with his family to [Vienna](/source/Vienna), [Austria](/source/Austria), where he grew up. He received his doctorates in law and political science from the [University of Vienna](/source/University_of_Vienna) in 1927.[1][2]

## Early career

After receiving his doctorates, Zeisel worked with [Paul Lazarsfeld](/source/Paul_Lazarsfeld) and [Marie Jahoda](/source/Marie_Jahoda) on the 1933 study *Die Arbeitslosen von Marienthal*, which David Kaye has called "a celebrated study of the impact of the Depression and unemployment on a small Austrian town."[2] Similarly, [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago) professor [Friedrich Katz](/source/Friedrich_Katz) said of *Marienthal* that "The book had a profound effect, not only in Austria, but everywhere". Also after graduating from the University of Vienna, he practiced law and engaged in pro-socialism activism until 1938, when he emigrated to [New York City](/source/New_York_City) in response to the [Anschluss Österreichs](/source/Anschluss_%C3%96sterreichs). In New York, he became influential in the fields of media market research, and his research in these areas led to the 1947 statistics book *Say It with Figures*.[2]

## Later career

Zeisel joined the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School in 1953 to study the American jury system with [Harry Kalven](/source/Harry_Kalven). The research Zeisel and Kalven conducted on the jury system produced two books: *Delay in the Court* (1959) and *The American Jury*. After retiring from the University of Chicago, he continued conducting research, especially on [capital punishment](/source/Capital_punishment) (of which he was a firm opponent) and [trademark infringement](/source/Trademark_infringement). In 1977 he was elected as a [Fellow of the American Statistical Association](/source/Fellow_of_the_American_Statistical_Association).[3] One of the last works he wrote discussed the limits of using statistical methods to study the legal system. This book was posthumously published in 1997 as *Prove It with Figures*.[2]

## Death

Zeisel died at his home in 1992.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-trib_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-trib_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-trib_1-2) Olen, Helaine (10 March 1992). ["Hans Zeisel, 86, U. Of C. Professor"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/03/10/hans-zeisel-86-u-of-c-professor/). *Chicago Tribune*. Retrieved 29 May 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kaye_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kaye_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-kaye_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-kaye_2-3) Kaye, D.H. (2007). [*Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives*](http://www.personal.psu.edu/dhk3/pubs/07-EncLS(HZ).pdf) (PDF). Sage Publications. pp. 1599–1600.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [View/Search Fellows of the ASA](http://www.amstat.org/awards/fellowslist.cfm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160616161612/https://www.amstat.org/awards/fellowslist.cfm) 2016-06-16 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), accessed 2016-08-20.

## External links

- [Guide to the Hans Zeisel Papers 1925-1992](https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.ZEISELH) at the [University of Chicago Special Collections](https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/scrc/)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Netherlands Latvia Poland Israel Belgium Academics CiNii People Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hans Zeisel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Zeisel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Zeisel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.