  erik maria ritter von kuehnelt-leddihn (born july 31, 1909 in tobelbad (now haselsdorf-tobelbad), austria-hungary; died may 26, 1999, in lans, austria) was an austrian catholic nobleman and socio-political theorist. describing himself as an "extreme conservative arch-liberal" or "liberal of the extreme right", kuehnelt-leddihn often argued that majority rule in democracies is a threat to individual liberties, and declared himself a monarchist and an enemy of all forms of totalitarianism.campbell, william f. âerik ritter von kuehnelt-leddihn: a remembrance,â first principles, september 2008. described as "a walking book of knowledge", kuehnelt-leddihn had an encyclopedic knowledge of the humanities and was a polyglot, able to speak eight languages and read seventeen others. his early books the menace of the herd and liberty or equality were influential within the american conservative movement. his best-known writings appeared in national review, where he was a columnist for 35 years. ==life== kuehnelt-leddihn was born in austria. at the age of 16, he became the vienna correspondent of the spectator. from then on, he wrote for the rest of his life. he studied civil and canon law at the university of vienna at the age of eighteen. from there, he went to the university of budapest, from which he received an m.a. in economics and his doctorate in political science. moving back to vienna, he took up studies in theology. in 1935, kuehnelt-leddihn travelled to england to become a schoolmaster at beaumont college, a jesuit public school. subsequently he moved to the united states, where he taught at georgetown university (1937â38), saint peter's college, new jersey (head of the history and sociology department, 1938â43), fordham university (japanese, 1942â43), and chestnut hill college, philadelphia (1943â47). in a 1939 letter to the editor of the new york times, kuehnelt-leddihn critiqued the design of every american coin then in circulationâexcept for the washington quarter, which he allowed was "so far the most satisfactory coin"âwith the mercury dime judged to be "the most deplorable".erik v. kuehnelt-leddihn, letter to the editor, "our coins criticized: visitor finds artistic faults in all except the quarter", the new york times, nov.
1909_births 1999_deaths 20th-century_Austrian_people Austrian_Roman_Catholics Austrian_anti-communists Austrian_knights Austrian_literary_critics Austrian_monarchists Austrian_philosophers European_classical_liberals Fordham_University_faculty Georgetown_University_faculty Historians_of_Nazism Historians_of_fascism National_Review_people People_from_Graz-Umgebung_District Roman_Catholic_philosophers Saint_Peter\'s_University_faculty University_of_Vienna_alumni