Lunsford Lomax Lewis (March 17, 1846 – March 13, 1920) was a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

attorney, judge and political figure.

Biography

Lewis was born in Rockingham County, Virginia. His boyhood was spent in the valley of Virginia and he was educated at Center College in Kentucky and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. He graduated in 1867 with a Bachelor of Laws degree and was admitted to the bar. He began practice in

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper Coun ...

, and was soon designated by the United States Government as Commonwealth's Attorney for several counties in the northern part of the state. When he was only twenty-seven, Lewis was appointed by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals in 1882 and served on the court through 1894, becoming its president when the court convened in January 1883. His term expired on January 1, 1895, and Judge Lewis resumed the practice of law in Richmond. Lewis was president of the

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provid ...

during 1900–1901. In December 1902, he was again appointed

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

, this time being appointed by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. In 1905, he ran for Governor of Virginia, but was defeated, losing to Democrat

Claude A. Swanson Claude Augustus Swanson (March 31, 1862July 7, 1939) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Virginia. He served as U.S. Representative (1893-1906), Governor of Virginia (1906-1910), and U.S. Senator from Virginia (1910-1933), befor ...

, and receiving 35.09% of the vote. From 1910 to 1912, he was U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District once again, but resigned and practiced law until a few months before his death.

References

1846 births 1920 deaths United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Virginia Virginia Republicans Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia {{Virginia-politician-stub