[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 137 (Wednesday, September 6, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               TRIBUTE TO THE LATE PROF. EDWARD J. MURPHY

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                           HON. PETER T. KING

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 1995
  Mr. KING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of one of our 
Nation's most eminent educators and scholars, Prof. Edward J. Murphy of 
the University of Notre Dame Law School who passed away on July 24.
  Professor Murphy taught at Notre Dame from 1957 to 1994--and during 
that time was acknowledged to be an unsurpassed academic authority in 
the area of contracts law. Professor Murphy held the first chaired law 
professor at Notre Dame and authored the legal textbook ``Studies in 
Contract Law'' which became the most widely used contracts textbook in 
the country.
  Mr. Speaker, for 37 years Professor Murphy taught every student who 
attended Notre Dame Law School. It was my honor and good fortune to 
have been one of those students. Professor Murphy taught me contracts, 
negotiable instruments, and bills and notes and directed a senior 
contracts seminar in which I participated. I have no hesitancy in 
saying that Professor Murphy was the most outstanding teacher I have 
ever had. He was hard working and dedicated and possessed an 
unsurpassed ability to communicate even the most arcane topics. He was 
admired and respected by every student who ever sat in his classroom.
  Mr. Speaker, Professor Murphy loved the law and he loved to teach. 
But what made Ed Murphy so unique was that his teaching transcended the 
classroom. He believed in values, in principles, and in ideals and he 
imparted them to his students in all that he taught. Professor Murphy 
believed in God and in his Catholic faith and never wavered when 
confronted by the forces of political correctness. As Notre Dame Law 
Professor Charles Rice noted, ``Professor Murphy uniquely integrated 
faith and morality with the law. What he taught is sorely needed by law 
students today.''
  Mr. Speaker, Prof. Edward Murphy faced death as he lived his life--
with courage, with dignity and with faith in God. And now I would ask 
this House to pay its own tribute to a man who made such a profound 
impact on the lives of so many. Please join me as I express my regret 
at the loss of Edward J. Murphy, and my profoundest condolences to Mary 
Ann, his wife of 41 years, his 9 children, his 22 grandchildren, and to 
his entire family.


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