Earth Day: 5 interesting things about the environmentalist holiday

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Monday, April 22, 2024

Was one of the founders a murderer?

The mugshots of Ira Einhorn (1940-2020), a professor and environmental activist who murdered then composted his girlfriend in the 1970s. | Wikimedia Commons

Another persistent rumor is that Ira Einhorn, a former college professor who killed and then composted his girlfriend in the 1970s, was one of the founders of the Earth Day holiday.

According to Time magazine, this was due to initial reporting on the part of its publication and others, which pointed to a photo showing Einhorn on stage at the 1970 Earth Day event held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Additionally, according to Time, Einhorn himself spread claims that he was heavily involved in organizing the holiday, and took credit for emceeing the Philadelphia event.

However, two organizers of the Philadelphia Earth Day celebration, Edward W. Furia and Austan S. Librach, later wrote to Time in 1997 explaining that Einhorn had no connection to organizing the event and that the photo was misleading.

“The photo you ran was taken during a one-hour period when Einhorn literally occupied the podium, refusing to get off the stage and delaying Senator Edmund Muskie’s keynote speech,” they explained.

“It was an unsuccessful attempt — at least at that time — to seize 15 minutes of fame. Now a notorious murder, flight, trial in absentia and foreign capture are giving Einhorn the national media attention he so desperately craved.”