David Roland Waters
| Madalyn Murray O'Hair | |
|---|---|
Madalyn Murray O'Hair, 1983.
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| Born |
Madalyn Mays April 13, 1919 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | September 29, 1995 (aged 76) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Homicide |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | South Texas College of Law |
| Alma mater | Ashland University |
| Occupation | Activist, founder and president of American Atheists |
| Known for | Abington School District v. Schempp (Supreme Court case) |
| Spouse(s) |
John Henry Roths (m. 1941; div. 1946) Richard O'Hair (m. 1965; d. 1978) |
| Partner(s) | William J. Murray, Jr. Michael Fiorillo |
| Children |
William J. Murray III Jon Garth Murray |
Madalyn Murray O'Hair (née Mays; April 13, 1919 – September 29, 1995), was an American activist, founder of American Atheists, and the organization's president from 1963 to 1986. She created the first issues of American Atheist Magazine. O'Hair is best known for the Murray v. Curlett lawsuit, which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling ending official Bible-reading in American public schools in 1963. That case came just one year after the Supreme Court prohibited officially sponsored prayer in schools in Engel v. Vitale.
In 1995, O'Hair, her son Jon, and her granddaughter Robin disappeared from Austin, Texas. They were later found to have been kidnapped, murdered and mutilated by David Roland Waters, a convicted felon on parole, and fellow career criminal Gary Karr, and a third man, Danny Fry.
Madalyn Mays was born in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 13, 1919, the daughter of Lena Christina (née Scholle) and John Irwin Mays. She had an older brother, John Irwin Jr. (known as "Irv"). The siblings had Irish ancestry on their father's side and German ancestry on their mother's side. At the age of four, Madalyn was baptized into her father's Presbyterian church; her mother was a Lutheran. In 1936, she graduated from Rossford High School in Rossford, Ohio.
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