Thomas John Morris (September 24, 1837 – June 6, 1912) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Maryland The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court of ...

Education and career

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Morris received an

Artium Baccalaureus 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 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1856 before

reading law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

to enter the bar in 1861. He was a commissioner for the Baltimore City Government from 1856 to 1878, and was in private practice in Baltimore from 1861 to 1879.

Federal judicial service

On July 1, 1879, Morris was nominated by President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

William Fell Giles William Fell Giles (April 8, 1807 – March 21, 1879) was a United States representative from Maryland and later a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Education and career Born on April ...

. Morris 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 July 1, 1879, and received his commission the same day. Morris served in that capacity until his death on June 6, 1912, in Baltimore. He was the last federal judge in active service to have been appointed by President Hayes.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Thomas John 1837 births 1912 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland United States federal judges appointed by Rutherford B. Hayes 19th-century American judges Harvard College alumni 19th-century American politicians United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Gettysburg College alumni