George Donworth (November 26, 1861 – September 6, 1947) 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 Western District of Washington.
Education and career
Born in
Machias,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
, Donworth received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in 1881, and
read law to enter the bar in 1883. He was in private practice in
Fort Fairfield,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
from 1883 to 1888, and in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
(State of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
from November 11, 1889) from 1888 to 1909, serving as corporation counsel for Seattle from 1892 to 1894. He was a member of the Seattle School Board from 1907 to 1909.
Federal judicial service
On May 8, 1909, Donworth was nominated by President
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
to a new seat on the
United States District Court for the Western District of Washington created by 35 Stat. 686. 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 May 18, 1909, and received his commission the same day. Donworth served in that capacity until his resignation on March 20, 1912.
Later career and death
Donworth returned to private practice in Seattle from 1912 to 1918, when he entered the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
, serving until 1922. He thereafter remained in private practice in Seattle from 1922 until his death in that city on September 6, 1947.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donworth, George
1861 births
1947 deaths
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
United States district court judges appointed by William Howard Taft
20th-century American judges
Georgetown University alumni
People from Machias, Maine
People from Fort Fairfield, Maine
Maine lawyers
Washington (state) lawyers
Lawyers from Seattle
United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law