My sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Professor Bernstein. I was a bookstore manager at New York Law School during his tenure. I processed his course book orders and occasionally had the chance to speak to him by phone or he would come to the bookstore. 

I always found him to be a gracious, kind and funny man. Some of my fondest memories of my time at New York Law School are of his kindness, especially when I first started there.

May he Rest in Peace.

Professor Bernstein during the end of fall semester 2013. He was admired by his students and his academic work, integrity and human values have stayed with me. 

Me and professor Berntein at the end of his lecture on the foundations of America 

When I began studying at CCNY in 2016, I struggled to decide what major I wanted to pursue. Political science had been of moderate interest to me, so one of the first people that I talked to in order to learn more about the program was Professor Bernstein. The stress of thinking about the future had begun to weigh down on me, but I very vividly remember how calm and comforting Professor Bernstein’s presence was and how it also helped to calm me down. When I walked away from my first conversation with him I had a better sense of what to expect in this major, and Professor Bernstein even offered to let me sit in on one of his classes on American political thought to get a better sense of what to expect. Sitting in on that class further strengthened my interest in the program.

A semester later, with this experience in mind, I went back to Professor Bernstein and requested his signature to formally switch my major to political science. Professor Bernstein’s guidance had further sparked my interest in the field, and I ultimately stuck through with it and received my BA in 2020. That path ultimately culminated in my being awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a master’s degree abroad at Tel Aviv University in Israel. I consider Professor Bernstein one of the many reasons for that success.

Though I never took any classes with Professor Bernstein, I see now that in the grander picture his brief presence in my life was incredibly meaningful. I can only imagine, then, the impact that he had on students who actively engaged with him, studied under him, learned from him, and were guided by him. Professor Bernstein will be dearly missed, but his legacy remains through the vast number of students that he helped educate.

I was shocked when I heard of Richard's death, as I am sure many were. I met Richard via Facebook after reading his "Founding Fathers Reconsidered," which I still believe is one of the best written on the Founders. I harbor no small ambition to write, and I sometimes asked Richard to read over articles. He always did and always sent them back much better than what he received. Once, out of the blue, Richard phoned me about a book proposal I had written (which was rejected) and suggested sending it to Oxford University Press or Harvard University Press. "But Richard," I protested, "I'm not good enough for either of those places." I'll never forget his response. "Shhh," he said, "I think you're good enough, even if you don't." I loved being able to watch the service. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Robert G. Wick

Professor Bernstein was an incredible professor and mentor. 

May he rest in peace. 

My deepest sympathy to all the Bernstein family for their loss.  May his memory be a blessing.

Richard and I had what I guess you’d call an online friendship, sharing a love of 18th-century history. He was also kind enough to write an extended book review for the university alumni magazine I edited. He had a wonderful mixture of intellectual tough-mindedness, prickly disregard for hiding one’s vulnerabilities, and an overall mindset that was straight out of the Enlightenment. I know I’m a wiser person for having known him. Godspeed, Richard.

I had this commissioned for Richard's birthday in 2022.  I know that he enjoyed it, and it says a lot about the man.
May his memory and works be a blessing for the generations.

Dear family and friends of Richard,
Richard was always at City College, walking down the halls, meeting with students, reading and writing in his office with the door always open.  He was a fixture in the Political Science Department, an anchor for students and faculty alike.  He was always willing to share his wisdom and advice.  He will be greatly missed.
Warmly,
Jean Krasno, Political Science Department, City College of New York

We were almost the same age (I learned of his death ten minutes before my 67th birthday) and were both “Ricky” growing up.  I simply shortened it to “Rick” in high school and wore the Desi Arnaz thing as a badge of honor, as my mom said that it was I Love Lucy that made Ricky an acceptable nickname and she, like Richard, hated the name “Dick.”   

Both in law school and in later years as we talked about stuff on Facebook, Richard’s was an opinion I respected and if we had a disagreement, I would always sit back and try to work out how he’d gotten to his position and to see where I was wrong.  Because, as so many of his friends have pointed out, where it mattered Richard reached conclusions based on evidence, not some “feeling” or a preconceived notion of history or precedent.  It is legitimately possible to reach different conclusions from the same evidence and sometimes we agreed to disagree, but I was never left with the impression he was not taking my opinions and analysis into account even if we did disagree, or, in later years, denigrating my mere bachelor’s degree in history as a reason for our disagreement.  

The last two days, and I’m certain I’m not alone, I had the instinct of seeking to find out his wisdom over the latest Supreme Court mistakes and the sorrow over his death became even more palpable because I will never again be able to.  

Dear Steven and family,
Our thoughts and prayers have been with you the last few days and we wish that we weren't' so far away during this hard time.  Although we only met Richard one time during the family reunion last fall, we feel fortunate to have gotten to spend the weekend getting to know him.  I even bought one of his books after our trip, so I'm happy that I have something of his in our home to remember him by.    Richard's life was cut way too short and I'm sure that he will be missed by many.  Sending many hugs from Colorado.
Love, 
Alissa, Adam, Bella & Molly Ulitzky



I met and became friends with Richard during our freshman year at Amherst.    I quickly discovered that his love of books had no bounds.  At Amherst, at Harvard Law School, and later while living in New York, he displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of every bookstore within miles.  He frequently visited bookstores even to examine their offerings, even when he couldn’t afford to buy another book.  Instead of shopping, he would go up and down the aisles to see who had written the forward for each edition of every history-related book.  Richard would sometimes drag me along.  On one occasion, we overheard a customer ask a clerk whether the store had a particular title.  When the clerk responded that he didn’t know but would check, Richard exclaimed, “No, you don’t.  You should but you don’t.”  He then added that a bookstore 10 miles away had three copies in stock and that they were the fifth, sixth, and seventh books from the left on the third shelf of the fifth aisle.  On another occasion, while staying at the Parker Meridien in mid-town Manhattan, I told Richard that a friend wanted to find a copy of a particular out-of-print book.  Without a moment’s hesitation, Richard accurately responded that it could be found in a bookstore just one block away.
Richard also had a photographic memory for the contents of books, which he read with enormous celerity.  He banged out papers while fearlessly including quotes from numerous sources, all without reviewing those sources to make sure the quotes were accurate.  Of course, he also had to supply the attributions from memory.  Richard’s footnotes included the author, publisher, edition number, year of publication, and even the page numbers of the sources from which the quotes were taken.

My family sends its deepest sympathies to the Bernstein family on the passing of Richard. He was in our homeroom at Stuyvesant HS for nearly 3 years, from Grades 10 thru 12.  He was not only very smart, but told some great jokes too. And when he put on his British accent forget it; he was hilarious. Richard was always talking about Amherst College too. This was 50 years ago and I still remember it well. He was a great person and a  great classmate. Am so sorry to hear he passed away so young.

We have lost an exceptional and brilliant professor, whose guidance and support pushed me to pursue my studies abroad. 
I am immensely grateful for everything he has done for me. May he find eternal rest. My deepest condolences go out to his family during this difficult time. 

Richard was a wonderful person, and I was glad to know him.  He made a measurable contribution to the study of American history.  I'm sorry he's gone.



OBITUARY

Richard Bernstein

May 24, 1956 – June 26, 2023

Sinai Chapels

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Services