Harold Hitz Burton

Harold Hitz Burton

Infobox Senator |name=Harold H. Burton
nationality=American



jr/sr and state=Senior Senator, Ohio
party=Republican
term=1941–1945
preceded=A. Vic Donahey
succeeded=James W. Huffman
order2=84th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
term_start2=October 1, 1945
term_end2=October 13, 1958
nominator2= Harry S. Truman
predecessor2=Owen Josephus Roberts
successor2=Potter Stewart
date of birth=birth date|1888|6|22
place of birth=Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
dead=dead
date of death=death date and age|1964|10|28|1888|6|22
place of death=Washington, D.C.
spouse=Selma Florence Smith, Married 1912
religion=Unitarian

Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, a member of the United States Senate and later Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was known as a dispassionate jurist who prized equal justice under the law.

He was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, to Alfred E. Burton and Anna Gertrude Hitz. His father was a Dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was also an explorer. He had accompanied Robert Peary on several expeditions to the North Pole. His mother was a daughter of the first Swiss Consul General to the United States. He was also a second cousin of J. Edgar Hoover on their mothers' side. Their common great-grandparents were Johannes (Hans) Hitz, first Swiss Consul General to the United States, and wife Anna Kohler.

Burton attended Bowdoin College, where his roommate and fellow Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brother was Owen Brewster, who later became a U.S. Senator from Maine. He went on to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1912. After graduating, he practiced law in Ohio. He was a United States Army infantry officer during World War I, seeing heavy action in France and Belgium.

Burton served in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1929 and was the law director of Cleveland, Ohio before being elected Mayor of Cleveland in 1935, running as a Republican. He served until his election as United States Senator in 1941. It was in the Senate that he first met fellow senator Harry S. Truman. Burton served with Truman on the Senate investigative committee that oversaw the U.S. war effort during World War II, and the two got along well. Truman was elected Vice President of the United States in 1944, and assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945.

When Supreme Court Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts retired later that year, Truman decided to appoint a Republican as a bipartisan gesture. Burton resigned from the Senate on September 30, 1945, when President Truman appointed him to the Court. His nomination was announced to the Senate and confirmed unanimously on the same day, without hearing or debate. Burton served until retiring on October 13, 1958. He suffered from Parkinson's disease in his later years. He died from complications arising from this, kidney failure and pulmonary trouble. According to Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren's papers, Burton was influential in bringing about the Supreme Court's unanimity in the landmark desegregation case, "Brown v. Board of Education".

Burton married Selma Florence Smith in 1912. They had four children: Barbara (Mrs. Charles Weidner), William (who served in the Ohio House of Representatives and was a noted trial lawyer), Deborah (Mrs. Wallace Adler), and Robert (a distinguished attorney and counsel to athletes).

The Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress holds an extensive collection of Burton's personal and judicial papers, including Supreme Court conference notes, which have been widely used by legal historians.

ee also

References

*Harold Hitz Burton Papers [http://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/mss/hhbg.shtml]
*Obituary from the "New York Times", October 29, 1964, pg 35.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Harold Hitz Burton — (* 22. Juni 1888 in Boston, Massachusetts; † 28. Oktober 1964 in Washington D.C.) war ein US amerikanischer Richter und Politiker der Republikanischen Partei. Von 1941 bis 1945 saß er f …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Burton, Harold Hitz — (1888 1964)    Born in Massachusetts, Harold Burton graduated from Bowdoin College in 1909 and Harvard Law School in 1912. He established a practice in Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1914 went to Salt Lake City, Utah, to work for the Utah Power and… …   Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era

  • Burton — can mean:PlacesAustralia*Burton, South Australia, a suburb of AdelaideCanada*Burtonsville, Alberta *Burton, British Columbia *Burton, New Brunswick *Burton, Ontario *Burton Brae, New Brunswick *Cherry Burton, New Brunswick *Lower Burton, New… …   Wikipedia

  • Burton (Familienname) — Burton ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Burton, Harold H. — ▪ United States jurist in full  Harold Hitz Burton  born June 22, 1888, Jamaica Plain, Mass., U.S. died Oct. 28, 1964, Washington, D.C.       associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1945–58).       Burton was the son of… …   Universalium

  • Burton — /berr tn/, n. 1. Harold Hitz /hits/, 1888 1964, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1945 58. 2. Richard (Richard Jenkins), 1925 84, English actor, born in Wales. 3. Sir Richard Francis, 1821 90, English explorer, Orientalist, and writer.… …   Universalium

  • Burton — I. biographical name Harold Hitz 1888 1964 American jurist II. biographical name Richard 1925 1984 British actor III. biographical name Sir Richard Francis 1821 1890 British explorer & orientalist IV. biographical name Robert 1577 1640 English… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Toolson v. New York Yankees — Infobox SCOTUS case Litigants=Toolson v. New York Yankees ArgueDate=October 13 ArgueYear=1953 DecideDate=November 9 DecideYear=1953 FullName=George Earl Toolson v. New York Yankees, Inc. USVol=346 USPage=356 Citation= Prior= Subsequent=… …   Wikipedia

  • Potter Stewart — Infobox Judge name = Potter Stewart imagesize = caption = office = 92nd Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court termstart = October 14 1958 termend = July 3 1981 nominator = Dwight D. Eisenhower appointer = predecessor = Harold Hitz… …   Wikipedia

  • Owen Roberts — For the Welsh educationalist, see Owen Roberts (educator). Owen Josephus Roberts Portrait by Alfred Jonniaux Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”