Earl Richard Larson (December 18, 1911 – October 31, 2001) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Minnesota The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (in case citations, D. Minn.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Minnesota. Its two primary courthouses are in Minneapoli ...

Education and career

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Larson received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1932 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1935. He was an insurance adjuster for the Hardware Mutual Insurance Company from 1935 to 1937. He was in private practice in Minneapolis from 1937 to 1940. He was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

of the District of Minnesota from 1940 to 1942. He was a trial attorney of the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money (price contr ...

from 1942 to 1943. He was a trial attorney of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

in 1943. He was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1943 to 1946. He was in private practice in Minneapolis from 1946 to 1961.

Federal judicial service

Larson was nominated by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

on July 24, 1961, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Robert C. Bell Robert Cook Bell (November 1, 1880 – March 17, 1964) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Education and career Born in Harrisonville, Missouri, Bell received a Bachelor of Laws ...

. 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 August 9, 1961, and received his commission on August 10, 1961. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on June 30, 1977. Larson served in that capacity until his death on October 31, 2001, in Minneapolis.

Notable case

Larson presided over ''

Honeywell, Inc. v. Sperry Rand Corp. ''Honeywell, Inc. v. Sperry Rand Corp., et al.'', 180 U.S.P.Q. 673 ( D. Minn. 1973) (Case 4-67 Civil 138, 180 USPO 670), was a landmark U.S. federal court case that in October 1973 invalidated the 1964 patent for the ENIAC, the world's first gener ...

References

Sources

*
Earl R. Larson Papers
Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota. Correspondence and newspaper clippings relating to the Honeywell v. Sperry Rand trial and recognition of John V. Atanasoff as the inventor of the electronic digital computer. Includes correspondence from historical researchers, awards committees, Atanasoff, and the patent counsel from Honeywell. {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Earl Richard 1911 births 2001 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy 20th-century American judges University of Minnesota alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Assistant United States Attorneys