Edward Armstrong Towse (1905 – May 18, 1973)Ex-Chief Justice Towse Dies
, ''

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...

'' (May 22, 1973), page 37. was a justice of the Territorial

Supreme Court of Hawaii The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the Hawaii, State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decis ...

from April 18, 1950, to April 6, 1956, serving as chief justice from October 15, 1951, to April 6, 1956. Born in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii. Towse graduated from

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

in 1925, receiving an undergraduate degree from the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

and a law degree from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

. In 1932, Towse was named an assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the District of Hawaii, serving until 1934. In 1949, he was appointed as a circuit court judge, and the following year he was elevated to an associate justice seat on the territorial supreme court. He was elevated to chief justice in 1951, serving in that capacity until 1956. Towse died in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

, after a long illness.

References

1905 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American judges Justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court Lawyers from Honolulu University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni {{Hawaii-state-judge-stub