Florence K. Murray (1916–2004) was a high-ranking officer in the

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States ...

, the first female state senator in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, the first female judge in Rhode Island and the first female member of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the Supreme court, court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by ...

Early life

Florence Kerins Murray was born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

in 1916. She was of Irish American ancestry and was a member of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She was a graduate of Rogers High School in Newport, and Syracuse University in New York. She graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

law school in 1942. She was married to Paul F. Murray, who died in 1995.

World War II service

Murray was commissioned as an officer in the

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the youngest woman to achieve that rank at that time. She served on the staff of the Director of the Women's Army Corps, Colonel Oveta Hobby, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She was discharged from the Army in 1947. For her military service she was awarded the Legion of Merit, the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

, the

Women's Army Corps Service Medal The Women’s Army Corps Service Medal was a military award of the United States Army which was created on July 29, 1943 by issued by President Franklin Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize the service of women to the Army during the Se ...

, the

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

and the World War Two Victory Medal.Rhode Island State Manual, 1991 - 1992

Political career

After the war, she was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Rhode Island state senate and served from 1949 to 1956. She was the first woman to serve as a state senator in Rhode Island. She was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1952.

Judicial career

In 1956, she was the first woman appointed as a Superior Court judge in Rhode Island. In 1978, she was appointed Chief Justice of the

Rhode Island Superior Court The Rhode Island Superior Court is the state trial court of general jurisdiction in Rhode Island. Jurisdiction The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in all felony proceedings, civil matters with an amount in controversy in excess of $10,000, ...

. In November 1979, she was elected by the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...

as an associate justice of the

. She was the first female supreme court justice in Rhode Island. She retired from the court in 1996 after having served as a judge for 40 years.

Honors

Murray received the Silver Shingle Award from Boston University School of Law. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1980.

Death and burial

She died at her home in Newport on March 28, 2004, and is buried with her husband in Trinity Cemetery in

Portsmouth, Rhode Island Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged ...

Legacy

The Florence K. Murray award of the

National Association of Women Judges National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) is an American professional organization founded in 1979. Members are lawyers and women judges who are dedicated to preserving judicial independence to women, minorities and other historically disfavor ...

is named after her. The award is presented to a non-judge who has influenced women to pursue legal careers, opened doors for women attorneys, or advanced opportunities for women within the legal profession. The Rhode Island Bar Association established a Florence K. Murray Award in her honor. The Newport County Courthouse was renamed the Florence K. Murray Judicial Complex in 1990, the first time a courthouse in the United States was named in honor of a female jurist. There is a full length, life-sized portrait of Justice Murray in the courthouse.

References

External links

Photo of Major Florence Murray (Truman Library)

Portrait of Judge Florence Murray by Maxwell Mays

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Florence K. 1916 births 2004 deaths Syracuse University alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials in Rhode Island 20th-century American judges Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Superior court judges in the United States Democratic Party Rhode Island state senators 20th-century American women judges 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American women