Arthur Easterbrook Whittemore (June 3, 1896 – October 1, 1969) was a justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

from 1955 to 1969. He was appointed by Governor

Christian Herter Christian Archibald Herter (March 28, 1895December 30, 1966) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who was the 59th Governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957 and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961. His moderate t ...

. Whittemore was born on June 3, 1896, in

Reading, Massachusetts Reading ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 census. History Settlement and American independence Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's original settler ...

to father Frederick Ellsworth Whittemore and mother Edith Lillian Easterbrook. Frederick was principal of Reading High School. In 1904, Fredrick was given the position of Superintendent of South Hadley-Granby Schools, and the Whittemores moved to

South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...

. Whittemore attended and graduated from

South Hadley High School South Hadley High School is a secondary school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States, for students in grades 9–12. The school has a student population of just over 700. The school's name is frequently referred to as "SHHS". Phoebe Prin ...

in 1913. Whittemore attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and in 1917, graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry. For two years after his graduation from Harvard, Whittemore served in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive si ...

as a lieutenant in Company B, 168th Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division, where he spent most of his time in France and Germany. Whittemore noted that if not for the war, it was likely he would have become a chemist. Upon returning from war, Whittemore decided to enroll in

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1919. He graduated in 1922 and joined the law firm

Nutter McClennen & Fish Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP is a long-standing law firm in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm has a wide variety of practice areas including intellectual property, technology, business, and real estate law. Nutter was co-founded by Samuel D. Warren I ...

, a firm founded by

Louis D. Brandeis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

and

Samuel D. Warren II Samuel Dennis Warren (1852 – February 18, 1910), also Samuel Dennis Warren II, was an American attorney from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Warren was born in 1852. His father was also named Samuel D. Warren, known as S.D. Warren, who founde ...

. He was made a partner in 1930. Whittemore was married in 1924 to Suvia Lanice Paton. He had three children: Suvia, Elizabeth and Arthur Whittemore. Whittemore and his family lived in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on B ...

. In 1942, Whittemore served as a Special Assistant Attorney General to deal with the reorganization of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

and the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

. Additionally he was a member of several presidentially appointed boards dealing with fact-finding in railroad labor disputes. In October 1955, Whittemore was appointed to the

by Governor Christian A. Herter, serving thereafter until his death. Whittemore died on October 1, 1969, at his home in Hingham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittemore, Arthur Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court 1896 births 1969 deaths Harvard College alumni People from Hingham, Massachusetts 20th-century American judges Harvard Law School alumni South Hadley High School alumni