Nathaniel Weyl
| Nathaniel Weyl | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 20, 1910 New York City |
| Died | April 13, 2005 (aged 94) Ojai, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (undergraduate), London School of Economics (postgraduate) |
| Years active | 1933-2003 |
| Employer | U.S. Government: Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Federal Reserve Board, Board of Economic Warfare |
| Political party | Socialst Party USA, CPUSA |
| Spouse(s) | Sylvia Castleton Weyl (first), Marcelle Weyl (second) |
| Children | Jonathan Weyl, Walter Weyl |
| Parent(s) | Bertha Nevin (née Poole), Walter Edward Weyl |
Nathaniel Weyl (July 20, 1910 – April 13, 2005) was an American economist and author who wrote on a variety of social issues. A member of the Communist Party of the United States from 1933 until 1939 but, after leaving the party, he became a conservative and avowed anti-communist. In 1952 he played a minor role in the Alger Hiss case.
Weyl was born in New York City, the only child of Bertha Nevin (née Poole) and Walter Edward Weyl, a founder of The New Republic and a prominent progressive. His father was from a German Jewish family, and his mother, originally from Chicago, was from a Christian background.
Weyl received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1931. There, he joined the Social Problems Club and "created the Morningside Heights branch of the SP, which covered Columbia, Barnard, and Union Theological Seminary... soon... the largest branch in the Party." He did postgraduate work at the London School of Economics, where instructors included Friederich Hayek on the right and Harold Laski on the left. He returned to Columbia for doctoral studies in economics in 1932 and became a leader of the "Communist-controlled" National Student Union. Edmund Stevens, like Weyl, was an editor of Student Review and convinced him to join the Communist Party.
Weyl described his position in the party in a manner that may indicate pre-positioning for underground work:
I was made a Member At Large (MAL) of the Party. This meant that I was not to express views which identified me as a Communist, not frequently to attend rallies or associate with known Communists, that I would not be a member of any unit, and would have to stay away from CP headquarters.
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