John Thomas Cahill (November 17, 1903 – November 3, 1966), was a 20th-Century
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
Townsend Harris High School
Townsend Harris High School at Queens College (THHS) is a public magnet high school for the humanities in the borough of Queens in New York City. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Harrisites." Townsend Harris consistently ranks a ...
, a public school in New York and later attended
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, A.B. (1924) and
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 ...
, LL.B. (1927).
He joined the law firm of Cotton & Franklin, the predecessor to the firm that was to later bear his name, Cahill Gordon & Reindel. He represented NBC, RCA, W.R. Grace & Co. and A&P, among other corporate giants.
Cahill served as
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...
, from 1939 to 1941 and was the lead prosecutor in the trial of former United States Circuit Judge
Martin T. Manton
Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for th ...
, which led to Manton's conviction.New York Times, June 4, 1939, p. 1.
Personal life
He was married to Grace Pickens who was one of the
Pickens Sisters
Jane Pickens Hoving (10 August 1907 – 21 February 1992)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 216-217. was an American singer on B ...
, a singing trio born on a Georgia plantation that reached national stardom in the 1930s with its own radio show, concert tours and records. They had 4 children. His daughter Catherine married William Lehman Bernhard (b. 1931), son of