John Benjamin Sanborn Jr. (November 9, 1883 – March 7, 1964) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Minnesota The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (in case citations, D. Minn.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Minnesota. Its two primary courthouses are in Minneapoli ...

Education and career

Born on November 9, 1883, in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Sanborn received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1905 from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and 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 ...

in 1907 from the St. Paul College of Law (now

Mitchell Hamline School of Law Mitchell Hamline School of Law is a private law school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and offers full- and part-time legal education for its Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. History Mitchell Hamlin ...

). He entered private practice in Saint Paul from 1907 to 1916, a portion of that time with the firm owned by future United States Supreme Court Justice

Pierce Butler Pierce or Piers Butler may refer to: *Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond (c. 1467 – 26 August 1539), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland *Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye (1652–1740), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland *Pi ...

and future

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

William D. Mitchell William DeWitt Mitchell (September 9, 1874August 24, 1955) was an American attorney who had served as both Solicitor General of the United States under President Calvin Coolidge and United States Attorney General under President Herbert Hoover. ...

. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1913 to 1915. He was Comptroller of Insurance for the State of Minnesota from 1917 to 1918 and from 1919 to 1920. On August 12, 1918, with the outbreak of

world War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he resigned as insurance commissioner and joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, where he initially became a private.Boyd, Thomas H
"The Life and Career of the Honorable John B. Sanborn, Jr"
'' William Mitchell Law Review'', Mitchell Hamline School of Law, volume 23, issue 2, 1997, pages 213–14 He was stationed at

Fort Pike Fort Pike State Historic Site is a decommissioned 19th-century United States fort, named after Brigadier General Zebulon Pike. It was built following the War of 1812 to guard the Rigolets pass in Louisiana, a strait from the Gulf of Mexico, via L ...

, Arkansas at the Infantry Central Officers Training School. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant on November 30, 1918 and was honorably discharged 4 days later on December 3. He was as a member of the Minnesota Tax Commission from 1920 to 1921. He was a Judge of the Minnesota District Court from 1922 to 1925.

Federal judicial service

Sanborn was nominated by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

on March 18, 1925, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Wilbur F. Booth. 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 March 18, 1925, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on February 2, 1932, due to his elevation to the Eighth Circuit. Sanborn was nominated by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

on December 19, 1931, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge Wilbur F. Booth. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 19, 1932, and received his commission on January 23, 1932. He assumed

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

on June 30, 1959. His service terminated on March 7, 1964, due to his death in Ramsey County, Minnesota. He was interred in Oakland Cemetery in Saint Paul.

Role in law school merger

Sanborn also played an active role in the merger that officially created William Mitchell College of Law.Biography of John B. Sanborn
from the William Mitchell College of Law.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanborn, John B. Jr. 1883 births 1964 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota lawyers Military personnel from Minnesota Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota United States Army officers United States court of appeals judges appointed by Herbert Hoover 20th-century American judges United States district court judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge University of Minnesota alumni William Mitchell College of Law alumni