Roswell Foster Magill (November 20, 1895 – December 17, 1963) was an American

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

yer and Treasury Department official. He was one of the most important tax officials of the 1930s and one of the leading tax experts. Born in

Auburn, Illinois Auburn is a city in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,771 at the 2010 census, and 4,681 in 2018. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Auburn is located at (39.588969, -89.7 ...

to a teacher and prominent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Hugh S. Magill, who later won a seat in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

, Roswell Magill attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, graduating in 1916. After a brief stint as an Army captain during

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 ...

, Magill returned to Illinois for law school. He graduated from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

in 1920 and began his legal career at the Chicago firm of Alden, Latham & Young. In 1923 Magill joined the Bureau of Internal Revenue as a special attorney, and within a year he had been promoted to chief attorney for the Treasury Department. As Treasury Secretary

Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...

's top lawyer, he helped make the case for major tax reform in 1924. In 1927 he left public service for a faculty post at

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

, where he introduced a class on federal income taxation. After briefly serving as special tax advisor to Treasury Secretary

Henry Morgenthau Henry Morgenthau may refer to: * Henry Morgenthau Sr. (1856–1946), United States diplomat * Henry Morgenthau Jr. (1891–1967), United States Secretary of the Treasury * Henry Morgenthau III (1917–2018), author and television producer of ''Screa ...

in the early 1930s, Magill was nominated by President

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

to become Under Secretary of Treasury in 1937. He supervised preparation of the Tax Revision Studies, a series of reports on every aspect of federal taxation. In 1938, Magill again left the Treasury, returning to Columbia. Also, he was hired by prestigious New York law firm

Cravath, Swaine & Moore Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (known as Cravath) is an American white-shoe law firm with its headquarters in New York City, and an additional office in London. The firm is known for its complex and high profile litigation and mergers & acquisitions ...

in 1943, as a rare lateral partner. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1948.

Important works

* *

References

External links

* 1895 births 1963 deaths People from Sangamon County, Illinois Dartmouth College alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Columbia University faculty Cravath, Swaine & Moore partners {{US-law-bio-stub Members of the American Philosophical Society