US Supreme Court justice from 1910 to 1914
Horace Harmon Lurton
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In office
January 3, 1910 ? July 12, 1914
[1]
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Nominated by
| William Howard Taft
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Preceded by
| Rufus W. Peckham
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Succeeded by
| James Clark McReynolds
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In office
March 27, 1893 ? December 20, 1909
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Nominated by
| Grover Cleveland
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Preceded by
| Howell Edmunds Jackson
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Succeeded by
| Loyal Edwin Knappen
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Born
| Horace Harmon Lurton
(
1844-02-26
)
February 26, 1844
Newport
,
Kentucky
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Died
| July 12, 1914
(1914-07-12)
(aged 70)
Atlantic City
,
New Jersey
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Cause of death
| Heart attack
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Resting place
| Greenwood Cemetery,
Clarksville
,
Tennessee
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Political party
| Democratic
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Education
| Old University of Chicago
Cumberland School of Law
(
LLB
)
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Signature
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Allegiance
|
Confederate States
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Branch/service
|
Confederate States Army
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Years of service
| 1861?1864
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Rank
| First Lieutenant
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Unit
| 5th Tennessee Infantry
2nd Kentucky Cavalry
3rd Kentucky Cavalry
[2]
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Battles/wars
| American Civil War
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Horace Harmon Lurton
(February 26, 1844 ? July 12, 1914) was a Confederate soldier and later,
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Lurton was born on February 26, 1844, in
Newport
,
Kentucky
.
[3]
He attended the
Old University of Chicago
,
[note 1]
then received a
Bachelor of Laws
in 1867 from
Cumberland School of Law
(then part of
Cumberland University
, now part of
Samford University
).
[3]
He served in the
Confederate States Army
as a Sergeant Major with the 5th Tennessee Infantry, 2nd Kentucky Infantry and 3rd Kentucky Cavalry from 1861 to 1865.
[3]
He was twice captured by Union forces, the second time sent as a
prisoner of war
to
Johnson's Island
Prison Camp in
Sandusky Bay
,
Ohio
.
[
citation needed
]
He claimed he was later
paroled
by President Lincoln because of pleas for mercy from his mother but this was merely an anecdote he often repeated to dinner guests, according to historian Roger Long.
[
citation needed
]
Mr. Long explains in detail what the evidence shows in an article he wrote in the December 1994 edition of Civil War Times.
[
citation needed
]
According to Mr. Long, apparently he was paroled from Johnson's Island only when he signed the oath of allegiance, not because of any act of the president.
[
citation needed
]
Mr Long's article includes interesting details about Lurton's service as well as possible reasons for the anecdote he was so fond of repeating.
[
citation needed
]
He entered private practice in
Clarksville
,
Tennessee
from 1867 to 1875.
[3]
He was Chancellor for the Tennessee Chancery Court for the Sixth Judicial District from 1875 to 1878.
[3]
He resumed private practice in Clarksville from 1878 to 1886.
[3]
He was a justice of the
Tennessee Supreme Court
from 1886 to 1893.
[3]
U.S. Circuit Court
[
edit
]
Lurton was nominated by President
Grover Cleveland
on March 22, 1893, to a joint seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
and the
United States Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit
vacated by Judge
Howell Edmunds Jackson
.
[3]
He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
on March 27, 1893, and received his commission the same day.
[3]
His service terminated on December 20, 1909, due to his elevation to the Supreme Court.
[3]
Concurrent with his service on the Sixth Circuit, Lurton served as Dean of the law department of
Vanderbilt University
from 1905 to 1909.
[3]
U.S. Supreme Court
[
edit
]
On December 13, 1909, President
William Howard Taft
nominated
Lurton as an
associate justice of the United States Supreme Court
,
[4]
to succeed
Rufus W. Peckham
. He was confirmed by the Senate on December 20, 1909,
[4]
and was
sworn into office
on January 3, 1910.
[1]
He was Circuit Justice for the Second Circuit from January 10, 1910, until January 8, 1911, Circuit Justice for the Third Circuit from January 9, 1911, until March 17, 1912, and Circuit Justice for the Seventh Circuit from March 18, 1912, until July 12, 1914.
[3]
His service terminated on July 12, 1914, due to his death in
Atlantic City
,
New Jersey
.
[3]
Lurton sided most frequently on the court with Associate Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
,
[5]
a progressive Supreme Court justice. The most notable opinion he authored was probably the opinion of the Court in
Coyle v. Smith
, 221 U.S. 559 (1911), which held that the federal government could not tell a state where to locate its capital, as all states must be on "equal footing."
[
citation needed
]
Death
[
edit
]
Lurton's tenure on the Court was brief, as he served only four years before dying in Atlantic City, New Jersey of a
heart attack
on July 12, 1914. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in
Clarksville, Tennessee
.
[6]
Legacy and honors
[
edit
]
During
World War II
the
Liberty ship
SS
Horace H. Lurton
was built in
Brunswick
,
Georgia
, and named in his honor.
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Lurton's Federal Judicial Center biography indicates he attended "Douglas University", which actually was a pejorative term for the Old University of Chicago, stemming from Stephen Douglas's involvement with the institution.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Justices 1789 to Present"
. Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States
. Retrieved
February 15,
2022
.
- ^
"Compiled service records of Confederate Soldiers who served in organizations from the State of Kentucky"
. National Archives.
Archived
from the original on February 26, 2018
. Retrieved
February 25,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
Horace Harmon Lurton
at the
Biographical Directory of Federal Judges
, a publication of the
Federal Judicial Center
.
- ^
a
b
McMillion, Barry J. (January 28, 2022).
Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2020: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President
(PDF)
(Report). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service
. Retrieved
February 15,
2022
.
- ^
Randal Rust.
"Horace Harmon Lurton"
.
Archived
from the original on April 11, 2019
. Retrieved
April 11,
2019
.
- ^
Young, Ed (March 1, 2018).
"Horace Harmon Lurton"
.
Tennessee Encyclopedia
. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Historical Society.
Archived
from the original on December 26, 2019
. Retrieved
April 7,
2020
.
- ^
Williams, Greg H. (July 25, 2014).
The Liberty Ships of World War II: A Record of the 2,710 Vessels and Their Builders, Operators and Namesakes, with a History of the Jeremiah O'Brien
. McFarland.
ISBN
978-1476617541
.
Archived
from the original on October 14, 2021
. Retrieved
December 9,
2017
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Irons, Peter.
A People's History of the Supreme Court
, p. 260.
Penguin Books
, 2000.
Peter Irons
wrote critically of Lurton's lack of impact on American Constitutional Law, even though Lurton only served on the High Court for four years before his death.
External links
[
edit
]
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,
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(
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,
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)
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(
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,
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)
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(
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,
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)
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(
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,
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)
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(
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,
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)
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(
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,
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)
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(
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,
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)
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(
1986?2005
,
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)
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(
2005?present
,
cases
)
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*
Also served as Chief Justice of the United States
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International
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National
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Other
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