Hiram Knowles (January 18, 1834 – April 6, 1911) 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 Montana.

Education and career

Born in

Hampden, Maine Hampden is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,709 at the 2020 census. Hampden is part of the Bangor metropolitan statistical area. History The town was originally called Whee ...

, Knowles attended

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

and received a

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 Chi ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1860. He was in private practice in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

from 1860 to 1862, then in

Dayton, Missouri Dayton is an unincorporated community in southeast Cass County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Garden City is five miles north along Missouri Route F and Creighton lies 6.5 miles east along Missouri Route B. The Settles Ford Conservation Area alo ...

in 1862 and in Humboldt County,

Nevada Territory The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Nevada T ...

from 1862 to 1863. He was a district attorney of Humboldt County, Nevada Territory (State of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

from October 31, 1864) from 1863 to 1864, and a Humboldt County probate judge from 1864 to 1865 before resuming his private practice in

Deer Lodge Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Powell County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,938 at the 2020 census. Description The city is perhaps best known as the home of the Montana State Prison, a major local employer. ...

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries T ...

from 1866 to 1868. He was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Montana from 1868 to 1879. He was again in private practice in

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

, Montana Territory (State of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

from November 8, 1889) from 1879 to 1890.

Federal judicial service

On January 6, 1890, Knowles was nominated by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Montana created by 25 Stat. 676. 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 February 21, 1890, and received his commission the same day. Knowles retired from the bench on April 15, 1904. He returned to private practice in

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

, Montana until his death on April 6, 1911, near

Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Hiram 1834 births 1911 deaths Harvard Law School alumni Montana Territory judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Montana United States federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers People from Hampden, Maine Montana lawyers Antioch College alumni Iowa lawyers People from Butte, Montana People from Humboldt County, Nevada