Henry LeRoy Finch Papers

Henry Leroy Finch, Jr. was born on August 8, 1918. He was a pacifist and conscientious objector during World War II. He served in Civilian Public Service (CPS) Camp 11 (Ashburnham, Massachusetts) and Camp 37 (Coleville, California), and with CPS Unit 41 Williamsburg, Virginia). The first two were engaged in U.S. Forest Service efforts, and the latter was a mental hospital. After the war, Finch worked as an editor for Alternative and Liberation. For a time he was involved with the American Forum for Socialist Education, but his primary affiliations were with the Fellowship of Reconciliation and War Resisters League. He earned a PhD, taught philosophy at Sarah Lawrence College for twenty years and at Hunter College for sixteen years, and wrote several books, including Simone Weil and the Intellect of Grace. Finch was one of the founders of the American Weil Society in 1970. He died on August 22, 1997.

Finch was known as Roy in pacifist circles during the 1940s-1950s, and as such this name is noted in parentheses in the title of his papers because it shows up this way in the various collections at the SCPC. He used Henry as his name in his professional life.