Horace Harmon Lurton

Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, 1909-d. 1914. Judge, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1893-1909.

Horace Harmon Lurton served as an associate justice on the Unites States Supreme Court. Previously, he served as a judge for the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Lurton was born on February 26, 1844 in Newport, Kentucky. After the Civil War, he received his legal education at the Cumberland School of Law and later established a practice in Clarksville, Tennessee. On March 22, 1893, President Grover Cleveland nominated him to the Sixth Circuit. Lurton was soon confirmed and served on the Court alongside future President of the United States, William Howard Taft. After Taft was elected president, he elevated Lurton to the Supreme Court. On December 13, 1909, President Taft nominated Lurton to a seat vacated by Associate Justice Rufus W. Peckham. Lurton was confirmed by the Senate on December 20, 1909, and received his commission on the same day. Lurton served in on the Supreme Court for four years, until his death on July 12, 1914.

Archival Materials

Horace Harmon Lurton papers, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.