William Homer Thornberry (January 9, 1909 – December 12, 1995) was an American politician and judge. He served as the

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from the 10th congressional district of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

from 1949 to 1963. From 1963 to 1965 he was a judge for the

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has ju ...

, and he was a judge for the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

from 1965 to 1978.

Early life

Thornberry was born in Austin,

. His parents were teachers in the State School for the Deaf and were themselves deaf. He attended public schools in Austin and graduated from Austin High School in 1927. He received a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanc ...

in 1932 from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

in 1936, from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a member of the Acacia fraternity. He was in private practice of law in Austin from 1936 to 1941. He was a Member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

from 1937 to 1941. He was district attorney of

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

, Texas from 1941 to 1942. He was a

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 ...

Lieutenant Commander from 1942 to 1946. He was in private practice of law in Austin from 1946 to 1948. He was a Member of the Austin City Council from 1946 to 1948.

United States representative

Thornberry was elected in 1948 to the 81st

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

as a

of the 10th congressional district of Texas. In winning the seat, he replaced its former occupant, Lyndon B. Johnson, who had been elected that year for the first time to 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 ...

. Thornberry was a member of the Rules Committee of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from January 1955 to his 1963 resignation, when he was appointed by Johnson, now President, to the federal bench. He was one of the majority of the Texan delegation to decline to sign the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manif ...

opposing the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in '' Brown v. Board of Education''. Thornberry voted against the

Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dw ...

but in favor of the

Civil Rights Act of 1960 The Civil Rights Act of 1960 () is a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote. It dealt primarily ...

and the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Thornberry was present on

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...

and witnessed Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office following the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

of President Kennedy.

Federal judicial service

Thornberry was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on July 9, 1963, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge R. Ewing Thomason. He was confirmed by the

on July 15, 1963, and received his commission from President Lyndon B. Johnson on December 17, 1963. His service was terminated on July 2, 1965, due to elevation to the Fifth Circuit. Thornberry was nominated by President Johnson on June 22, 1965, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr. (October 19, 1879 – January 18, 1973) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of ...

He was confirmed by the Senate on July 1, 1965, and received his commission the same day. He assumed

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

on December 21, 1978. His service was terminated on December 12, 1995, due to his death.

Supreme Court nomination

On June 26, 1968, Johnson nominated Thornberry as an

associate justice of the United States Supreme Court An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of ...

, to fill the anticipated vacancy to be created by the nomination of associate justice Abe Fortas to become the next chief justice, upon the retirement of

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitutio ...

. The

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nomination ...

held hearings on the nomination simultaneously with those on the Fortas nomination. On October 4, 1968, after several days of contentious debate on the floor of the Senate, and with prospects for confirmation fading, Johnson withdrew the Fortas nomination. As Fortas remained an associate justice, Thornberry's nomination became moot; no further action was taken and the nomination was withdrawn by the president.

Death

Thornberry died on December 12, 1995, at his home in Austin and was interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. He was first married to the former Eloise Engle (1919–1989). After her death he wed Marian Davis. With his first wife, Thornberry was the father of three children, Molly, David, and Kate.

References

Sources

* * * "William Thornberry"
Texas State Cemetery
Retrieved 20 June 2005. * * The University of Texas Alumni Magazine *

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornberry, Homer 1909 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians United States Navy personnel of World War II American prosecutors Austin City Council members Austin High School (Austin, Texas) alumni Burials at Texas State Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Gallaudet University people Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Austin, Texas United States court of appeals judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy United States Navy officers University of Texas School of Law alumni Unsuccessful nominees to the United States Supreme Court