Felix Morrow

Felix Morrow
James Cannon and Felix Morrow with bust of Trotsky ca 1940s
Born	Felix Mayrowitz June 3, 1906 New York City
Died	May 28, 1988(1988-05-28) (aged 81) New York City
Nationality	American
Other names	George Cooper
Education	New York University, Columbia University
Occupation	political activist, publisher
Years active	1933 - ~1970s
Organization	CPUSA, CLA, SWP, WP(US)
Known for	communist/socialist/Trotskyist activism
Notable work	Revolution and Counter Revolution in Spain (book, 1938) on the Spanish Civil War
Movement	Trotskyism, Communism, Socialism
Children	2 daughters and 2 sons

Felix Morrow (June 3, 1906 – May 28, 1988) was an American communist political activist and newspaper editor. In later years, Morrow left the world of politics to become a book publisher. He is best remembered as a factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement.

Felix Morrow was born Felix Mayrowitz to an Orthodox Jewish family in 1906 in New York City. His parents, emigrants from Eastern Europe, ran a small grocery store in the city. Morrow later recalled his upbringing in a letter to historian Alan Wald:

"I came from a Hassidic family, but my father at the age of 15 had fled in disillusionment from the house of the Chortkow Rebbe where his father was a gabbai (rabbai's assistant). But my mother remained religious and I had a traditional Jewish education."

In America, both of Felix Mayrowitz's parents had become socialists and Felix had been a participant in the youth section of the Socialist Party of America from an early age, beginning with the Junior division of the Young People's Socialist League. At age 16, Felix was employed as a reporter by the Brooklyn Daily Times. He later went to work for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, using his paychecks there to help finance his education at New York University (NYU).

Felix Mayrowitz graduated from NYU in 1928 and enrolled in graduate school at Columbia University, also located in New York City, where he studied religion in association with the Philosophy Department. At the time of his enrolling at Columbia, Felix availed himself of advice he had received that his professional progress would be easier with a less ethnic surname; it was at this time that Felix Mayrowitz became Felix Morrow. Friends at Columbia included Herbert Solow, Meyer Schapiro, Whittaker Chambers, George Novack, John McDonald, and Sidney Hook.