Edmund N. Carpenter, II

Edmund N. ("Ned") Carpenter, II (1921–2008) was president of Richards, Layton & Finger, a law firm located in Wilmington, Delaware. He studied at Princeton, where he later established the Edward N. Carpenter, II professorship, and at Harvard University. He earned a Bronze Star for his service in World War II, and was a past president of the Delaware Bar Association and the American Judicature Society. Carpenter died on December 19, 2008.

Essays
In 1938, while a 17-year old student in Lawrenceville, N.J., Carpenter wrote an essay entitled "Before I die...", setting out the things he hoped to achieve in his life. The essay was read at his 2008 funeral by one his daughters, Lea Carpenter. The essay achieved some acclaim, and was later reprinted in several newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal.