Sheldon Victor Ekman (March 12, 1920 – January 21, 1982) was an American attorney and tax law expert who served as a judge of the
United States Tax Court
The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tr ...
from 1980 to 1982.
Born in
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644.
Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Ha ...
, Ekman received an
A.B.
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 yea ...
from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1939,
[''Harvard Law School - Yearbook'' (1940), p. 154.][''Official Congressional Directory'' (1981), p. 744.] followed by a
J.D. from
Harvard Law School in 1942. He served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, from 1942 to 1945, attaining the rank of lieutenant.
He was a trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel,
Internal Revenue Service, in New York City, from 1945 to 1950. He then enterered private practice as a tax principal with S. D. Leidesdorf & Co., also in New York, from 1950 to 1969.
He was then a partner with Reavis & McGrath in New York from 1969 to 1980, also becoming an adjunct professor of law and taxation at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
in 1979.
He also taught classes at various points for
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
,
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
, the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
,
New York Law School
New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...
, and
The New School for Social Research
The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSS ...
.
Ekman "wrote extensively on his specialties and his research was published in various proceedings".
On June 2, 1980, President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
appointed Ekman to the U.S. Tax Court for a 15-year term, to succeed Judge
William M. Drennen.
Ekman married Judith Saturen in 1943, with whom he had a son Richard H., and a daughter, Joanna K.
Two years after his appointment to the Tax Court, Ekman died from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at the age of 61, while on judicial assignment in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
.
References
1982 deaths
1920 births
People from Manchester, New Hampshire
Harvard College alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
United States Navy officers
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Judges of the United States Tax Court
United States Article I federal judges appointed by Jimmy Carter
{{US-federal-judge-stub