Benjamin Johnson (January 22, 1784 – October 2, 1849) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Arkansas The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

Education and career

Born on January 22, 1784, in Johnson Station (now Great Crossing) in what is now Scott County,

District of Kentucky Kentucky County (then alternately spelled Kentucke County) was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County effective December 31, 1776. The name of the county was taken ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

(now

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

), Johnson read law. He entered private practice in Georgetown, Kentucky. He was a planter in Scott County, Kentucky. He was a Judge of the Kentucky Circuit Court. He was a Judge of the Superior Court of

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

from 1821 to 1836.

Federal judicial service

Following the admission of the State of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

to the Union on June 15, 1836, Johnson was nominated by President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

on June 27, 1836, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 5 Stat. 50. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on June 29, 1836, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on October 2, 1849, due to his death in Lexington, Kentucky.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Benjamin 1784 births 1849 deaths People from Scott County, Kentucky Richard Mentor Johnson family Conway-Johnson family American people of Scottish descent Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Arkansas Kentucky state court judges United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law United States federal judges appointed by Andrew Jackson American planters 19th-century American judges