John Davis (jurist)

Infobox Judge
honorific-prefix =
name = John Davis
honorific-suffix =


imagesize = 200 px
caption =
office = Judge of the District of Massachusetts
term_start = 1801
term_end = 1841
nominator =
appointer = President John Adams
predecessor = John Lowell
successor = Peleg Sprague
state_house2 = Massachusetts
district2 = Plymouth County
term_start2 = 1795
term_end2 = 1797
preceded2 =
succeeded2 =
state_senate3 = Massachusetts
district3 =
term_start3 = 1789
term_end3 = 1795
preceded3 =
succeeded3 =
birth_date = Birth date|1761|1|25
birth_place = Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
death_date = Death date and age|1847|1|25|1761|1|25
death_place = Boston, Massachusetts, USA
restingplace =
restingplacecoordinates =
birthname =
nationality = American
party =
otherparty =
spouse =
partner =
relations =
children = John Davis
residence =
alma_mater = Harvard College
occupation = Judge
profession =
net worth =
cabinet =
committees =
portfolio =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

John Davis (January 25, 1761, Plymouth, Massachusetts - January 14 1847, Boston, Massachusetts) was a lawyer, member of both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, comptroller, and federal judge.

Early life

Davis first received a private education, before graduating from Harvard College in 1781, going on to read law and being admitted to the bar in 1786, before practicing private law in Plymouth.

Career

Political career

In 1788 he was selected as a delegate from Plymouth to the Massachusetts state convention, called to consider adoption of the Federal Constitution. He was elected and served three times in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, then in 1795 became state senator of Plymouth County.

Later in 1795 he accepted President George Washington's request to serve as Comptroller of the Treasury of the United States, a position he resigned from in 1796 over matters of salary. Washington then appointed him United States Attorney for the district of Massachusetts, leaving the post in 1801. Subsequently he moved permanently to Boston.

Judgeship

From 1801-1841 he served as President John Adams' appointed judge of the United States district court for the district of Massachusetts. His probable most noted achievement was his wise handling of the law in regards to commercial mercantile embarrassment of New England at the time of an embargo and the War of 1812 which instilled the community's confidence in the law.

John Davis resigned this post on July 10, 1841, due to his advanced age and lived out his days in Boston, Massachusetts.

Other activities

In addition to his legal career, he pursued an interest in scientific phenomena and was deeply interested in New England history and antiquity. He served as president of the Massachusetts Historical Society (1818-1835) and was said to be the first person to the Plymouth colonists as pilgrims in his ode to an anniversary celebration in 1794. He was a Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow (1803), treasurer (1810) and member of the board of overseers (1827-1836).

ee also

*Davis political family

References

*Johnson, Allen & Malone, Dumas (ed.'s). "Dictionary of American Biography". vol. III. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N.Y. 1959.